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Human speech did not appear immediately. It developed very slowly and gradually. First, the apes, from which man descended, learned to keep upright. They mastered a straight gait, their forelimbs were free.
Even before, they used them differently from the hind ones when climbing trees in search of food. Even then, the structure of the forelimbs of the monkey resembled a human hand: the same number of bones, tendons, muscles. But the movements were poor. It took thousands of years to perfect the work of such a hand.
Gradually, in the process of labor and the use of various tools, the movements of the forelimbs became more dexterous and flexible. These traits were passed down from generation to generation. With the development of the hand, the whole organism developed and improved, and especially the brain.
Labor and development of the hand helped our ancestors to defend themselves from enemies, take shelter from bad weather, get food for themselves, and build housing. To do this, we had to act not alone, but together, helping each other.
Then the human ancestor developed a need for speech. They needed a signal for help or a call for food, and more and more often – advice on how to deal with a predator.
The structure of the pharynx changed just as slowly and gradually, the movements of the lips and tongue developed. The wild screams and growls disappeared, and articulate sounds appeared. So, gradually changing, the humanoid creature turned into a primitive, and then into a more perfect person.
“A kind word and the cat is pleased”
Try to compare wild and domestic animals. Forest animals: wolf, hare, fox – do not understand the words of a person, do not respond to them, on the contrary, they run away from people.
A completely different behavior in animals that man has tamed to himself. Dog, cat and horse from generation to generation used to live near people. Human speech constantly reached their ears.
Gently beckon the dog – it will come up and wag its tail. The horse will turn its head at the call. The dog will express its “understanding” by barking, the horse – by whinnying. They are capable of such experiences that a wild beast does not have. This is a feeling of affection, gratitude in response to the caress and care of a person, longing and pain at the loss of the owner.
But never even pets can express this in words. It is inaccessible to them due to the structure of the brain. And their throat is not adapted for articulate sounds. From constant communication with people, animals have developed only elements of understanding the language.
How ancient people communicated
The closest ancestor of man had a brain more perfect than that of a dog, horse, monkey, and the organs of speech were able to develop. With the development of the brain, the work of the senses has also changed. This all enriched speech and made work easier.
Primitive people, like animals, knew how to make simple sounds: if there was danger, they screamed, if they were happy, they screamed. But people needed to inform each other about hunting and edible fruits, and they learned to communicate with gestures. Later, they transmitted information by voice sounds.
Probably the first words were exclamations: oh, ah, hey, wow. Much time passed, and the command words appeared: Stop! Go! Shut up! This is how language appeared, oral speech appeared. The name “oral speech” comes from the word “mouth” – lips.
Excavations of the most ancient settlements of our ancestors Australopithecus African, Neanderthal man, Podkum man – show what complex tools they were able to do in ancient times. Found tools for hunting and cooking, they were made from animal bones, wood, stone.
In the caves, archaeologists saw rock paintings, necklaces from the teeth of wild animals. Labor created speech, and the appearance of speech and the development of thought expanded the types of labor. Thus, with language and thinking, more and more opportunities were opened up in human development. People have united in societies. They created production, technology, art.
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