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Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language
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Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language

by Robin Dunbar

This work explores the evolution of human language, proposing that it developed as a more efficient form of social grooming to maintain bonds in large groups. It examines the role of gossip and conversation in social cohesion and the necessity of face-to-face interaction.

Accession 27659 ISBN 0674363345 Publisher Harvard University Press
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Communication Connections Culture Evolution Human Evolution Humanity Language Life Sciences Linguistics Science Social Sciences
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position_updated_at
2026-06-10 09:10
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Hard Back
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210.00 (H) × 140.00 (W) × 19.00 (T) mm
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Identity

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Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language
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27659
vernon_slug
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Descriptive

production_date
1996
object_type
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object_status
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brief_description
Apes and monkeys, humanity's closest kin, differ from other animals in the intensity of their social relationships. All their grooming is not so much about hygiene as it is about cementing bonds, making friends, and influencing fellow primates. But for early humans, grooming as a way to social success posed a problem: given their large social groups of 150 or so, our earliest ancestors would have had to spend almost half their time grooming one another - an impossible burden. What Dunbar suggests - and his research, whether in the realm of primatology or in that of gossip, confirms - is that humans developed language to serve the same purpose, but far more efficiently. It seems there is nothing idle about chatter, which holds together a diverse, dynamic group - whether of hunter-gatherers, soldiers, or workmates. Anthropologists have long assumed that language developed in relationships among males during activities such as hunting. Dunbar's original and extremely interesting studies suggest otherwise: that language in fact evolved in response to our need to keep up to date with friends and family. We needed conversation to stay in touch, and we still need it in ways that will not be satisfied by teleconferencing, e-mail, or any other communication technology. As Dunbar shows, the impersonal world of cyberspace will not fulfill our primordial need for face-to-face contact.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Robin Dunbar
tags→ tags
Science, Group identity, Social psychology, Psychology, Life sciences, Social sciences, Civilisation, Sociology, Communication, Culture, Evolution (Biology), Biology, Human evolution, Interpersonal relations, Human behaviour, Social evolution, Language and languages -- Origin
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