Several lines of evidence suggest that humans developed spoken language in the last:
A) 20 million years.
B) 200,000 years.
C) 2 million years.
D) 30,000 years.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

There are several lines of evidence that suggest that humans developed spoken language in the last 200,000 years, including:

1) Fossil evidence of anatomical changes in the vocal tract of Homo sapiens, such as the position of the larynx, which are necessary for producing a wider range of sounds and more complex speech.

2) Genetic evidence that shows that the FOXP2 gene, which is involved in language development, underwent a selective sweep in Homo sapiens around 200,000 years ago.

3) Comparative studies of the brains of humans and non-human primates that suggest that the human brain has undergone significant changes in regions associated with language, such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas.

Based on these pieces of evidence, it is most likely that humans developed spoken language in the last 200,000 years.

Several Lines of Evidence Suggest That Humans Developed Spoken Language