Why Is It So Difficult to Pinpoint the Emergence of the Earliest

question 51

Multiple Choice

Why is it so difficult to pinpoint the emergence of the earliest languages?

• A) Written language only appeared about 5,000 years ago.
• B) Modern apes have a rudimentary language, so it must date to at least the divergence of the human and ape lineages.
• C) There are clear structural differences in the brains of people who speak and people who don't, but we have no fossilized evidence of brain structure.
• D) Every culture reports that they have been able to speak since the beginning of time.

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Definitions:

Gamete Formation

The process of forming gametes (sex cells such as sperm and eggs) through meiosis, in which the number of chromosomes is halved to ensure genetic diversity.

XYY

Refers to a chromosomal arrangement where an individual, typically male, has an extra Y chromosome, leading to the genotype 47,XYY.

Nondisjunction

An error in cell division that results in daughter cells with an abnormal number of chromosomes, which can lead to genetic disorders.

Spermatogenesis

Production of sperm in males by the process of meiosis and maturation.