Читать книгу The Handy Psychology Answer Book - Lisa J. Cohen - Страница 305

Hominid skulls show a steady increase in cubic centimeters across evolution. Estimating from skull size and shape, Homo habilis had a brain size of 600 to 700 cubic centimeters and Homo erectus about 900 to 1,000 cubic centimeters. Homo sapiens (modern humans) have a brain size of about 1,400 cubic centimeters. Concurrent with the increase in brain size, paleontologists find an increase in the complexity of tools found with hominid remains. Larger brains apparently translated into more sophisticated tool use. Additionally, larger-brained hominids were adapted to more varied and/or harsher climates.

Is there evidence of language in hominid skulls?

Indentations on the inside of Homo habilis skulls (Homo habilis lived about two million years ago) suggest an enlarged area around the location of Broca’s area, a central region for speech production in modern humans. While we cannot know if this area was connected to speech in Homo habilis brains, we can suggest that at least a precursor to modern language regions of the brain was present at a very early point in hominid evolution.