Toward a productive evolutionary understanding of music

Mehr, Samuel A.; Krasnow, Max M.; Bryant, Gregory A.; Hagen, Edward H.

doi:10.1017/s0140525x21000030

Cited by 6 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…phonological awareness) 10,11,12,13 . Given this link between spoken language and reading, and in light of theoretical frameworks positing co-evolution of rhythm- and language-related skills in humans 5,39,40,41,44 , we leveraged genomic methods to investigate the evolution of the overlap between rhythm and the reading-related aspect of language over a range of timescales (Fig. 4A).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our post-mvGWAS analyses enhance our understanding of the aetiology of rhythm and language (on which reading depends) by revealing intricate links across rhythm impairment, dyslexia, and various aspects of evolutionary past and neurobiological function (including gene expression in brain tissue, brain cell type-specific gene regulation, and a local genetic correlation with a tract linked to processing and production of speech and music) 5 . The evolutionary analyses aimed to provide empirical genetic data as groundwork towards understanding potential evolutionary forces acting jointly on human rhythm- and language- related skills 44,66 , revealing a candidate gene, DLAT , for future experimental investigations.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The evolutionary analyses aimed to provide empirical genetic data as groundwork towards understanding potential evolutionary forces acting jointly on human rhythm-and languagerelated skills 44,66 , revealing a candidate gene, DLAT, for future experimental investigations.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm

Alagöz,

Eising,

Mekki

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Rhythm and language-related traits are phenotypically correlated, but their genetic overlap is largely unknown. Here, we leveraged two large-scale genome-wide association studies performed to shed light on the shared genetics of rhythm (N=606,825) and dyslexia (N=1,138,870). Our results reveal an intricate shared genetic and neurobiological architecture, and lay groundwork for resolving longstanding debates about the potential co-evolution of human language and musical traits.

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Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm

Alagöz,

Eising,

Mekki

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…One of the earliest approaches to explain the evolution of music was taken by Darwin (1871) who compared music to mating calls and suggested that music could have arisen as an adaptation through sexual selection allowing early men to compete with each other to court and win over women. However, the sexual selection hypothesis fails to explain the variety of contexts in which music takes place such as war rituals, work, mourning, and social gatherings, as well as the presence of music in children and the listening by people of all ages (Hagen and Bryant, 2003;Dissanayake, 2006;Clayton, 2009;Kirschner and Tomasello, 2010;Mehr et al, 2019Mehr et al, , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as music is largely uninformative concerning personal goals, skills, and fitness benefits of individuals (an important outcome of social bonding), it may hinder reciprocal exchange (Hagen and Bryant, 2003). In addition, Mehr et al (2021) suggested that music production is costly due to its energy and time-intensive nature. Hence, an alternative to the social bonding hypothesis has been raised where music does not cause bonding and boost cohesion directly but can reliably signal coalition strength or quality and cooperative intent or the intention to signal information on the willingness to cooperate within and between groups (Hagen and Bryant, 2003;Mehr et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music production and its role in coalition signaling during foraging contexts in a hunter-gatherer society

Chittar,

Jang,

Samuni

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Music is a cultural activity universally present in all human societies. Several hypotheses have been formulated to understand the possible origins of music and the reasons for its emergence. Here, we test two hypotheses: (1) the coalition signaling hypothesis which posits that music could have emerged as a tool to signal cooperative intent and signal strength of alliances and (2) music as a strategy to deter potential predators. In addition, we further explore the link between tactile cues and the propensity of mothers to sing toward infants. For this, we investigated the singing behaviors of hunter-gatherer mothers during daily foraging trips among the Mbendjele BaYaka in the Republic of the Congo. Although singing is a significant component of their daily activities, such as when walking in the forest or collecting food sources, studies on human music production in hunter-gatherer societies are mostly conducted during their ritual ceremonies. In this study, we collected foraging and singing behavioral data of mothers by using focal follows of five BaYaka women during their foraging trips in the forest. In accordance with our predictions for the coalition signaling hypothesis, women were more likely to sing when present in large groups, especially when group members were less familiar. However, predictions of the predation deterrence hypothesis were not supported as the interaction between group size and distance from the village did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of singing. The latter may be due to limited variation in predation risk in the foraging areas, because of the intense bush meat trade, and hence, future studies should include foraging areas with higher densities of wild animals. Lastly, we found that mothers were more likely to sing when they were carrying infants compared to when infants were close, but carried by others, supporting the prediction that touch plays an important prerequisite role in musical interaction between the mother and child. Our study provides important insight into the role of music as a tool in displaying the intent between or within groups to strengthen potentially conflict-free alliances during joint foraging activities.

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Human musical capacity and products should have been induced by the hominin‐specific combination of several biosocial features: A three‐phase scheme on socio‐ecological, cognitive, and cultural evolution

Morita,

Nishikawa,

Tokumasu

2024

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Various selection pressures have shaped human uniqueness, for instance, music. When and why did musical universality and diversity emerge? Our hypothesis is that “music” initially originated from manipulative calls with limited musical elements. Thereafter, vocalizations became more complex and flexible along with a greater degree of social learning. Finally, constructed musical instruments and the language faculty resulted in diverse and context‐specific music. Music precursors correspond to vocal communication among nonhuman primates, songbirds, and cetaceans. To place this scenario in hominin history, a three‐phase scheme for music evolution is presented herein. We emphasize (1) the evolution of sociality and life history in australopithecines, (2) the evolution of cognitive and learning abilities in early/middle Homo, and (3) cultural evolution, primarily in Homo sapiens. Human musical capacity and products should be due to the hominin‐specific combination of several biosocial features, including bipedalism, stable pair bonding, alloparenting, expanded brain size, and sexual selection.

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Toward a productive evolutionary understanding of music

Cited by 6 publications

References 52 publications

The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm

The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm

Music production and its role in coalition signaling during foraging contexts in a hunter-gatherer society

Human musical capacity and products should have been induced by the hominin‐specific combination of several biosocial features: A three‐phase scheme on socio‐ecological, cognitive, and cultural evolution

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