title: Manual praxis in stone tool manufacture: implications for language evolution.
abstract: Alternative functions of the left-hemisphere dominant Broca's region have induced hypotheses regarding the evolutionary parallels between manual praxis and language in humans. Many recent studies on Broca's area reveal several assumptions about the cognitive mechanisms that underlie both functions, including: (1) an accurate, finely controlled body schema, (2) increasing syntactical abilities, particularly for goal-oriented actions, and (3) bilaterality and fronto-parietal connectivity. Although these characteristics are supported by experimental paradigms, many researchers have failed to acknowledge a major line of evidence for the evolutionary development of these traits: stone tools. The neuroscience of stone tool manufacture is a viable proxy for understanding evolutionary aspects of manual praxis and language, and may provide key information for evaluating competing hypotheses on the co-evolution of these cognitive domains in our species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, FL, USA. Electronic address: lruck@fau.edu.
authors.forename: Lana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruck
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology; D065711:Broca Area / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006040:Goals; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D059167:Mirror Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D013672:Technology
keywords: Broca’s area; Human evolution; Human mirror neuron system; Language; Manual praxis; Neuroimaging; Stone tool manufacture; Technological hypothesis for language evolution