linguistic:voice_change
History

According to some scientific estimates, language developed around 40,000 years ago while others consider it to be much older. Before this development, human communication resembled animal communication and happened through a combination of grunts, cries, gestures, and facial expressions. Language helped early humans to organize themselves and plan ahead more efficiently. In early societies, spoken language was the primary form of communication. Most knowledge was passed on through it, often in the form of stories or wise sayings. This form does not produce stable knowledge since it depends on imperfect human memory. Because of this, many details differ from one telling to the next and are presented differently by distinct storytellers. As people started to settle and form agricultural communities, societies grew and there was an increased need for stable records of ownership of land and commercial transactions. This triggered the invention of writing, which is able to solve many problems that arose from using exclusively oral communication. It is much more efficient at preserving knowledge and passing it on between generations since it does not depend on human memory. Before the invention of writing, certain forms of proto-writing had already developed. Proto-writing encompasses long-lasting visible marks used to store information, like decorations on pottery items, knots in a cord to track goods, or seals to mark property.