How did cavemen communicate?

How many ways have you communicated today? You probably had at least one face-to-face conversation with someone. Did you jot a note, send a text, make a phone call? Maybe it was even a video call! What about body language? Did you smile and wave? Shrug and raise your eyebrows?

Humans are good communicators. We speak or sign or write all the time, about many different things. We express basic needs, like "I'm hungry" or "I need to use the bathroom." We discuss things that happened in the past, and we talk about the future. We can even communicate with people who are far away, in space and in time. The words you're reading right now have been written long before your visit to TPL Kids today. Even though we've never met, we're communicating!

It's clear that we have a lot to say. But when and how we did we learn to say it? Some scientists believe that human speech began 100,000 years ago. Others believe it was earlier, or later. The earliest forms of communication likely consisted of different sounds and gestures.

What drove us to communicate with others? Communication makes cooperation possible. It meant that humans could work together on tasks such as hunting and gathering food. Our early ancestors learned to share knowledge about where to find food and what was safe to eat.

Over time, new signs and sounds developed, allowing us to share more of our thoughts. Cave paintings, smoke signals, drums and dances all served to communicate meaning. Some scientists believe Stone Age peoples had their own languages. We can't be certain about how early humans communicated. But it seems we will never run out of things to say!




Image source: "Boston Museum of Science | Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age | Aidan playing with a “caveman” set, with a home made out of mammoth bones" by Chris Devers is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.