How Did Our Ancestors Communicate?我们祖先如何交流？

陈伟济

我们的祖先通过视觉、嗅觉、味觉、触觉和听觉进行交流。十万多年前，人类还不能发出语音。有些科学家认为，人类一切语言都源自我们非洲祖先普遍使用的一种语言。人类语言可能在大约十万年前开始形成，但关于语言是如何产生的，科学家们意见不一。有人认为当大脑变得够大、够复杂以后，我们的祖先就开始说话了;有的则认为语言是从最早的类人猿的肢体动作和叫声慢慢演变而成的。尽管在语言形成以前人类就能够发出元音，但他们的喉头还不够发达，无法产生和控制复杂的发音。虽然没有记载，但科学家认为，当时人类的交流方式与动物相似。也就是说，他们只会发出诸如咕噜和叫唤等有限几种声音来交换自然环境信息。他们也用手势、体态和面部表情来进行交流。

我们祖先的交流方式

咕噜和叫唤

早在学会制作工具之前，史前人类就已经像如今智力发达的动物那样交流。所以，我们祖先交流的形式包括发出咕噜声、粗嘎的喉音和叫唤声。虽然能够发出声音，但由于喉头不够发达，他们无法构建或说出词语。这些声音是从小规模族群中发展而来的信号，共同生活的成员能够相互理解。因此，研究人员推断，穴居人模仿他们听到的动物叫声、树木摇曳和狂风呼啸等自然界的声音，表达感觉、情绪和想法。

手势和其他肢体动作

手势本就转瞬即逝，没有现代科技的可视化记录便无法保存。但我们可以猜想，史前时期的人类在社会交往和改造自然环境的活动中有成套丰富的手势语言。比如，我们完全可以想象他们表达情感、交流看法的具体手势和其他肢体动作。我们也能想象集体狩猎、战斗和传播应用于动植物及矿物上的变革性技术时，他们常用的视觉交流形式。虽说如此，我们祖先肢体动作的活动范围和活动对象本身的特点，很大程度上限制了上述猜想。

洞穴绘画

据估计，澳大利亚土著人的岩画大约有三万五千年的历史。在法国和西班牙洞穴发现的岩画可能约有三万年的历史，在非洲的一些发现同样也可以追溯至这一时期。最初的口头语言出现之后，图形是我们祖先最早使用的交流工具之一。通过这些图形，人类始祖发展出了跨越时空进行交流的能力。全球各地都能找到雕刻或绘画在岩石上的图形。

烟火信号

慢慢地，随着人类大脑和發音器官的不断进化，语言变得更为复杂。最早的部落族群随后出现其他的交流方式，其中包括烟火信号的使用，特别是在间隔距离较远的部落族群中。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：广东科技学院）

The communication from our ancestors was realized through the senses： the sight， the smell， the taste， the touch and the hearing. More than 100，000 years ago， man was physically unable to produce speech sounds. Some scientists think that all human language arose from a common language spoken by our ancestors in Africa. Human language probably began to develop about 100，000 years ago， although scientists disagree on how it arose. Some people think that our ancestors started talking when their brains became big and sophisticated enough. Others think that language evolved slowly， from the gestures and sounds used by our earliest ape ancestors. Although prior to language development， humans could produce vowel sounds， their larynx was not developed enough to generate and control the intricate sounds of speech. Despite the lack of records， scientists assume that their form of communication resembled that of animals. In this sense， they used a limited number of sounds like grunts and shouts to exchange information about the environment. They also communicated with each other through gestures， posture and facial expressions.

The forms of communication of our ancestors

Grunts and screams

Even before they learned to make tools， prehistoric men communicated as do well-developed animals. Thus， the communication of our ancestors included grunts， guttural sounds and shouts. As their larynx was underdeveloped， they were able to make sounds， but they could not construct or utter words. These sounds were mutually understood signs and signs developed by small groups living together. In this way， researchers have come to the conclusion that cave men and women made noises similar to the sounds they heard in nature， such as animal noises， such as noises produced by the swaying trees and the howls of the wind. These were used to communicate feelings， moods and ideas.

Gestures and other body movements

The gestures are by nature ephemeral and could not be preserved until modern technologies allowed their visual recording. However， it can be assumed that human beings from prehistory had rich repertoires of gestures in their social interactions and in their manipulation of the elements of the environment. Thus， it is only possible to imagine the specific gestures and other bodily movements that they did to communicate feelings and attitudes to each other. The same is true of the forms of visual communication that prevailed during collective hunting， war and the transmission of transformative techniques applied to plants， animals， and mineral materials. That said， this presumption is largely restricted by the range of movements that the human body can perform and by the nature of the objects with which our ancestors interacted.

Drawings in the caves

It is estimated that the aboriginal rock paintings of Australia can be about 35，000 years old. Those found in the caves of France and Spain could be about 30，000 years old. Similarly， some discoveries in Africa go back to that time. After the first forms of spoken language， images were one of the first communication tools of our ancestors. Through the images， the first humans developed the ability to communicate over time and over long distances. These images are found all around the planet chiseled， inscribed or painted on rocks.

Signs of smoke and fire

Over time， language became more complex as the human brain and the organs of speech evolved. The first groups then developed other forms of communication. One of these involved the use of smoke and fire signals. This occurred particularly among groups that were at some distance.