El ser humano surgió en África. ¿Y el lenguaje? Revisión crítica desde la paleontología y la teoría lingüística
Palabras clave:
evolución del lenguaje, origen del lenguaje, lenguaje humano, comunicación simbólica, lingüística evolutiva, evolución humanaResumen
Introducción: La comunidad científica reconoce que el ser humano anatómicamente moderno surgió en África; sin embargo, no existe consenso sobre si el lenguaje articulado y simbólico tuvo también allí su origen. El presente artículo examina críticamente las evidencias y teorías sobre el origen del lenguaje en el contexto de la evolución humana africana, con el fin de evaluar si la hipótesis de un origen paralelo a la especie resiste el escrutinio interdisciplinario actual.
Métodos: Este texto sigue como metodología una revisión crítica y selectiva de la literatura científica interdisciplinaria (paleoantropología, genética, arqueología y lingüística evolutiva) publicada en los últimos quince años. El análisis se organizó a partir de la identificación de correlatos anatómicos, genéticos y culturales del lenguaje en el registro fósil africano, contrastados con las principales familias teóricas sobre el origen del lenguaje.
Resultados: El registro fósil y genético africano permite identificar prerrequisitos del lenguaje, pero las evidencias indirectas (hueso hioides, posición laríngea, diversidad fonémica) generan debate. Mientras algunos autores postulan un protolenguaje para Homo erectus o neandertales, la mayoría sitúa el lenguaje plenamente recursivo y simbólico en el Homo sapiens anatómicamente moderno, vinculado a la revolución del Paleolítico superior. Las teorías vigentes ofrecen explicaciones parciales que no logran un consenso unánime del ciclo evolutivo.
Conclusiones: El lenguaje articulado y simbólico pleno surgió con toda probabilidad en el África subsaharana durante la Edad de Piedra Media, con la especiación del Homo sapiens. No obstante, dada la imposibilidad de un registro fósil directo del habla y la naturaleza inferencial de los proxies arqueológicos y genéticos, esta hipótesis, aunque robusta, no puede considerarse definitiva.
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