Fossils, Mothers & Babies Revealing the Way Human Brains Have Evolved With Dean Falk

The Rhys Show

In this episode, renowned paleo-anthropologist Dean Falk joins us to talk about how the evolution of our brains led to the emergence of language and how we differ from apes in terms of language and tools. Dean Falk shares her interesting perspective on how language began and the biases we have trying to understand our past from a male and female perspective which helps us acknowledge how humans evolved. A lot was going on 7MM years ago all the way to and through 200/300K years ago. We dive deep into the importance of fossils and what they have revealed, human and chimpanzee common ancestors and the split between the 'human' family tree from the chimpanzees. Additionally we talk about what happened after the split, the Botanic Age and the key role of mothers and babies in the origins of language. Stay tuned! SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/rhyslindmark JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/PDAPkhNxrC Who is Dean Falk? Dean Falk is an American evolutionary anthropologist specialized in paleo-anthropology, academic, research professor and author who is currently writing a book about the emergence and evolution of the earliest human predecessors who lived long before the appearance of the oldest known stone tools (tentatively titled Basket Weaving 101: Hominin Evolution during the Botanic Age). She is the Hale G. Smith Professor of Anthropology and a Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University. Much of her work focuses on the evolution of the human brain (paleoneurology) and the associated emergence of language, music, art, and science. Topics: Welcome Dean Falk to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00) Goal for listeners: (00:02:16) What part of early sapiens Dean focuses on: (00:02:50) Answering questions by studying skulls: (00:04:37) 4 decade discussion focusing on lunate sulcus: (00:08:51) About Bipedalism & the split between humans and chimpanzees: (00:10:06) About tools and mothers & babies: two cognitive biases: (00:14:33) The role of women as opposed to stone tools & the Botanic Age: (00:18:21) How does Dean know whether her perspective is true or not: (00:27:11) How did language start & how was it connected to imitation: (00:32:43) What about imitation, spindle neurons or mirror neurons?: (00:39:18) About the evolution of brain size: (00:45:16) How evolution as from early primates applies to the future: (00:49:21) Overrated or underrated questions about fire and the importance of being in groups in human evolution: (00:53:34) Get in touch with Dean: (00:55:35) Dean Falk’s books: “Geeks, Genes, and the Evolution of Asperger Syndrome”: https://www.amzn.com/0826356923 “Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants, and the Origins of Language”: https://www.amzn.com/0465002196 Connect with Dean Falk: FSU Department of Anthropology: https://anthro.fsu.edu/faculty-staff/department-faculty/dr-dean-falk Web: https://deanfalk.com/