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Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language
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Hardcover
Published by Harvard Univ Pr
ISBN: 0674363345
| Why is it that among all the primates, only humans have language? According to Professor Robin Dunbar's new book, humans gossip because we don't groom each other. Grooming is a way to forge alliances, establish hierarchy, offer comfort, or make apology. Once a population expands beyond a certain number, however, it becomes impossible for each member to maintain constant physical contact with every other member of the group, so we developed language as a substitute for physical intimacy. |
