Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind · chapter 2 · id sapiens-c2-01-language-evolved-primarily-to-
“Language evolved primarily to gossip -- to share social information about who is trustworthy and who is cheating, enabling larger group sizes than grooming alone could support.”
TRUE, BUTconfidence: medium⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending
Receipts
Dunbar (2004), Review of General Psychology 8(2):100-110DOI registry: valid
Gossip is proposed as a mechanism for social bonding that replaced physical grooming as group sizes increased, but Dunbar frames this as one function among several including storytelling, ritual, and laughter.
Tomasello (2008), Origins of Human Communication, MIT PressFLAGGED: DOI not in registry
Language evolved for cooperative communication and shared intentionality, not primarily for gossip. Gestural origins may have preceded vocal language.
Laland (2017), Darwin's Unfinished Symphony, Princeton UPFLAGGED: DOI not in registry
Language evolved to facilitate teaching and cooperative activities, not primarily social gossip. Cultural intelligence hypothesis offers a broader framework.
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