The Language Puzzle
Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved
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The Language Puzzle
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Narrado por:
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Kerry Hutchinson
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De:
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Steven Mithen
Acerca de esta escucha
A top scholar reveals the most complete picture to date of how early human speech led to the languages we use today
The invention of language began with the apelike calls of our earliest ancestors. Today, the world is home to thousands of complex languages. Yet exactly how, when, and why this evolution occurred has been one of the most enduring—and contentiously debated—questions in science.
In The Language Puzzle, renowned archaeologist Steven Mithen puts forward a groundbreaking new account of the origins of language. Scientists have gained new insights into the first humans of 2.8 million years ago, and how numerous species flourished but only one, Homo sapiens, survives today. Drawing from this work and synthesizing research across archaeology, psychology, linguistics, genetics, and more, Mithen details a step-by-step explanation of how our human ancestors transitioned from apelike calls to words, and from words to language as we use it today. He explores how language shaped our cognition and vice versa; how metaphor advanced Homo sapiens’ ability to formulate abstract concepts, develop agriculture, and—ultimately—shape the world. The result is a master narrative that builds bridges between disciplines, stuns with its breadth and depth, and spans millennia of societal development.
Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Language Puzzle marks a seminal understanding of the evolution of language.
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Who are we? How do scientists define Homo sapiens, and how does our species differ from the extinct hominins that came before us? In this accessible account palaeoarchaeologist Paul Pettitt shows how the latest scientific advances, especially in genetics, are revolutionizing our understanding of human evolution. Pettitt reveals the extraordinary story of how our ancestors adapted to unforgiving and relentlessly changing climates, leading to remarkable innovations in art, technology, and society that we are only now beginning to comprehend.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Current and Relevant
- De Amazon Customer en 11-16-23
De: Paul Pettitt
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How Language Began
- The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention
- De: Daniel L. Everett
- Narrado por: Jonathan Yen
- Duración: 13 h y 10 m
- Versión completa
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General3.5 out of 5 stars 311
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Narración:4 out of 5 stars 262
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 262
Mankind has a distinct advantage over other terrestrial species: we talk to one another. But how did we acquire the most advanced form of communication on Earth? Daniel L. Everett, a "bombshell" linguist and "instant folk hero" (Tom Wolfe, Harper's), provides in this sweeping history a comprehensive examination of the evolutionary story of language, from the earliest speaking attempts by hominids to the more than 7,000 languages that exist today.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Hard to endure
- De Michael D. Busch en 09-09-18
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Europe Between the Oceans
- 9000 BC-AD 1000
- De: Barry Cunliffe
- Narrado por: James Cameron Stewart
- Duración: 18 h y 48 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 16
In this magnificent book, distinguished archaeologist Barry Cunliffe reframes our entire conception of early European history, from prehistory through the ancient world to the medieval Viking period. Cunliffe views Europe not in terms of states and shifting political land boundaries but as a geographical niche particularly favored in facing many seas. These seas, and Europe's great transpeninsular rivers, ensured a rich diversity of natural resources while also encouraging the dynamic interaction of peoples across networks of communication and exchange.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Pathways of immigration
- De Brooks Smith en 12-21-24
De: Barry Cunliffe
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The Language Hoax
- Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language
- De: John H. McWhorter
- Narrado por: John McWhorter
- Duración: 5 h y 23 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 481
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 429
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 421
This short, opinionated audiobook addresses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that the language we speak shapes the way we perceive the world. Linguist John McWhorter argues that while this idea is mesmerizing, it is plainly wrong. It is language that reflects culture and worldview, not the other way around.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I really love listening to language--and McWhorter
- De Rachel en 03-24-16
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The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
- How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
- De: David W. Anthony
- Narrado por: Tom Perkins
- Duración: 18 h y 25 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 710
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 597
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 591
Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe? The Horse, the Wheel, and Language solves a puzzle that has vexed scholars for two centuries and recovers a magnificent and influential civilization from the past.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- De Anthony en 08-09-19
De: David W. Anthony
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Becoming Earth
- How Our Planet Came to Life
- De: Ferris Jabr
- Narrado por: Joe Ochman
- Duración: 9 h y 27 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 30
One of humanity’s oldest beliefs is that our world is alive. Though once ridiculed by some scientists, the idea of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. We, and all living things, are more than inhabitants of Earth—we are Earth, an outgrowth of its structure and an engine of its evolution. Life and its environment have coevolved for billions of years, transforming a lump of orbiting rock into a cosmic oasis—a planet that breathes, metabolizes, and regulates its climate.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating and well researched
- De Amazon Customer en 07-10-24
De: Ferris Jabr
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The Golden Road
- How Ancient India Transformed the World
- De: William Dalrymple
- Narrado por: William Dalrymple
- Duración: 13 h y 54 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 9
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Historia5 out of 5 stars 8
In The Golden Road, revered historian William Dalrymple corrects the record, telling the captivating story of ancient India’s ascent through a swift and breathtaking tour of the ideas and places Indians created. Treks into the sunless depths of cave monasteries illuminate the origins and spread of Buddhism. Far-flung archaeological expeditions—from the sand-blown Red Sea coast of Egypt, to Afghan mountain refuges, to verdant Cambodian jungles—reveal the impact of Indian commerce.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Completely unknown until now
- De Reader en 05-07-25
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Proof
- The Art and Science of Certainty
- De: Adam Kucharski
- Narrado por: Nathaniel Priestley
- Duración: 9 h y 43 m
- Versión completa
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General5 out of 5 stars 3
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Narración:5 out of 5 stars 3
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Historia5 out of 5 stars 3
An award-winning mathematician shows how we prove what’s true, and what to do when we can’t.
De: Adam Kucharski
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Is a River Alive?
- De: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrado por: Robert Macfarlane
- Duración: 10 h y 40 m
- Versión completa
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General5 out of 5 stars 11
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Narración:5 out of 5 stars 9
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Historia5 out of 5 stars 9
Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law. Macfarlane takes listeners on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love of language / Love of nature / Moral clarity
- De Michael McNulty en 05-21-25
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Twelve Trees
- The Deep Roots of Our Future
- De: Daniel Lewis
- Narrado por: Kaleo Griffith
- Duración: 9 h y 29 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 19
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 17
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 17
The world today is undergoing the most rapid environmental transformation in human history—from climate change to deforestation. Scientists, ethnobotanists, indigenous peoples, and collectives of all kinds are closely studying trees and their biology to understand how and why trees function individually and collectively in the ways they do. In Twelve Trees, Daniel Lewis, curator and historian at one of the world’s most renowned research libraries, travels the world to learn about these trees in their habitats.
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5 out of 5 stars
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lots of detail
- De David M Hazelton en 03-06-25
De: Daniel Lewis
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A Short History of Humanity
- A New History of Old Europe
- De: Johannes Krause, Thomas Trappe, Caroline Waight - translator
- Narrado por: Stephen Graybill
- Duración: 6 h y 9 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 140
Johannes Krause is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and a brilliant pioneer in the field of archaeogenetics - archaeology augmented by DNA sequencing technology - which has allowed scientists to reconstruct human history reaching back hundreds of thousands of years before recorded time. In this surprising account, Krause and journalist Thomas Trappe rewrite a fascinating chapter of this history, the peopling of Europe, that takes us from the Neanderthals and Denisovans to the present.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not a short history of humanity
- De Brent en 05-02-21
De: Johannes Krause, y otros
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Proust and the Squid
- The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
- De: Maryanne Wolf
- Narrado por: Kirsten Potter
- Duración: 8 h y 21 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 461
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 341
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 337
Interweaving her vast knowledge of neurology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy with fascinating down-to-earth examples and lively personal anecdotes, developmental psychologist, neuroscientist, and dyslexia expert Wolf probes the question, "How do we learn to read and write?" This ambitious and provocative new book offers an impassioned look at reading, its effect on our lives, and explains why it matters so greatly in a digital era.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Learning To Read & Write
- De Sara en 02-17-15
De: Maryanne Wolf
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Why We Remember
- Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters
- De: Charan Ranganath PhD
- Narrado por: Mark Deakins, Charan Ranganath PhD
- Duración: 7 h y 18 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 140
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 140
Memory is far more than a record of the past. In this groundbreaking tour of the mind and brain, one of the world’s top memory researchers reveals the powerful role memory plays in nearly every aspect of our lives, from recalling faces and names, to learning, decision-making, trauma and healing.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read/listen for those concerned with memory and mental health
- De Abee en 06-08-25
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Our Moon
- How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
- De: Rebecca Boyle
- Narrado por: Rebecca Lowman
- Duración: 12 h y 1 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes listeners on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting but with annoyances
- De J. Pegg en 04-13-24
De: Rebecca Boyle
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The Light Eaters
- How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
- De: Zoë Schlanger
- Narrado por: Zoë Schlanger
- Duración: 10 h y 56 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 468
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 426
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 426
The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining perhaps but not science.
- De Jerry Miller en 07-31-24
De: Zoë Schlanger
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All Things Are Full of Gods
- The Mysteries of Mind and Life
- De: David Bentley Hart
- Narrado por: Rachael Beresford
- Duración: 22 h y 12 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 29
In a blossoming garden located far outside all worlds, a group of aging Greek gods have gathered to discuss the nature of existence, the mystery of mind, and whether there is a transcendent God from whom all things come. Turning to Eros, Psyche asks, "Do you see this flower, my love?"
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5 out of 5 stars
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It's all in the mind
- De Owen Kelly en 08-30-24
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Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
- A New History of the Ancient Near East
- De: Amanda H. Podany
- Narrado por: Amanda H. Podany
- Duración: 18 h y 26 m
- Versión completa
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General5 out of 5 stars 193
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Narración:5 out of 5 stars 175
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Historia5 out of 5 stars 175
In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived.
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3 out of 5 stars
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word of advice
- De Jim Davis en 08-04-23
De: Amanda H. Podany