Comments on: Answering your questions on Week 1

By: Dave H Pallett

Dave H Pallett — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 05:23:21 +0000

Great job guy’s, love the informal setup and as a dedicated diver and skipper, love the enthusiasm.

By: Debbie Wareham

Debbie Wareham — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 15:01:59 +0000

Hello, thank you for considering my question about human cognitive ability and boatbuilding. I have been doing a bit more reading about this since last week, with no answer tho’!

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_evolution_of_language/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOXP2

Ref (3) http://biolinguistics.eu/index.php/biolinguistics/article/viewFile/283/295 – section 6.0 and 6.1 – Archaeology

Have been trying to understand more about language evolution and links with knot tying ability – as one component of boatbuilding. The emergence of the FOXP2 gene and its contribution to language development is interesting, along with the idea that skills such as knot tying emerge by virtue of this gene, as genes influence the emergence of more than one behaviour / skill. The FOXP2 gene apparently evolved to its current form roughly 200,000 years ago or more recently 120,000 years ago. From Ref 3, section 6.0, 6.1 – Balari et al. (2012) propose a specific connection between language and the ability to tie knots, as grammar and knot theory have the same level of computational complexity, however there is argument against this Lobina (2012). That said , I suppose when a set of complex skills emerge, that will enable complex tasks to be performed.

There is also having the ability to do something, which is very different from actually doing that. So people could have had the ability or a component of the ability to build boats – indirectly evidenced from beaded jewellery, tool use, which is different from direct evidence of boat building. Then how does all that sit with the transition from seagoing to boatbuilding.

It is a very interesting subject, which I could spend much more time reading, and thinking about.

By: Barbara Powell

Barbara Powell — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 14:20:33 +0000

Thank you! Really interesting questions and loved the informal set up. Seeing someone think about a question and then answer it takes me into the “classroom” and makes me think about the responses too.

By: Hans van de Bunte

Hans van de Bunte — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 11:11:47 +0000

Thank you for answering! I will need some time to make a selection of research done (sticking to Borneo waters) which could help with ‘calibrating’ and making local research more connectable in line. Hope I can get back to you guys if I would like your input on the selection.

Thanks again, Hans

By: Jacki Hart

Jacki Hart — Sun, 31 May 2015 21:05:55 +0000

Thank you for the answer to my question & also for the other points raised. If I was younger (and fitter) perhaps I could heve done research on this matter.