Human language was already present at least 135,000 years ago

The conclusion comes from a study coordinated by linguist Shigeru Miyagawa, who spoke about the subject in an interview with Agência FAPESP.

By José Tadeu Arantes  |  Agência FAPESP – Science does not know exactly when human language emerged, but a recent study shows that Homo sapiens had already developed this skill by at least 135,000 years ago. The study also suggests that language was the catalyst for the widespread development of modern human behaviors, such as body decoration and the use of symbolic patterns.

The research was coordinated by linguist Shigeru Miyagawa, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, and published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Miyagawa is also a visiting professor at the Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo (IB-USP) in Brazil, where he coordinates a project supported by FAPESP through the São Paulo Excellence Chair program (SPEC).

Genomic studies suggest that the first division of our species into different populations occurred around this time: 135,000 years ago. And Miyagawa and his colleagues argue that the universality of language among modern human populations implies that all lineages originating from the first division of Homo sapiens already had full linguistic capacity. Otherwise, we would expect some modern populations to lack language as we know it, which is not the case. While this argument does not specify exactly when language arose, it does indicate with good precision the latest moment at which it must have been present.

Based on this argument, the article in question proposes that language may have triggered the emergence of modern human behaviors, which spread around 100,000 years ago.

In this exclusive interview with Agência FAPESP, Miyagawa discusses the key findings of his study and their implications for our understanding of the evolution of language.

Agência FAPESP – The article you’ve just published argues that language as we know it was already present in Homo sapiens around 135,000 years ago. What genetic and archaeological evidence allowed you to reach that conclusion?

Shigeru Miyagawa – I started with the fact that every human group today possesses language, all 8 billion of us. Although languages can be very different, deep down, they all emerge from a uniform system. This means that every branch in history has led to language. If we could go back and identify the first division of Homo sapiens, we could say with reasonable certainty that linguistic ability existed before that initial division. Based on a large number of genetic studies that point to that initial division, we’ve come to the conclusion that it occurred around 135,000 years ago. This defines at least the latest date for the emergence of human language. We still don’t really know when it emerged, but I believe this is a very important first step.

Agência FAPESP – There appears to be a time gap between the emergence of linguistic ability and the appearance of modern human behaviors, such as body decoration and symbolic inscriptions. How do you interpret this time gap and what role did language play in this transition?

Miyagawa – In the study of human evolution, there are two very different characterizations of language. One considers that language is only part of the variety of modern human behaviors that have emerged over the course of evolution, such as painting, body decoration, the production of sophisticated tools and weapons. Another view is that language was the trigger for these other modern human behaviors. Our study suggests that this second view is the right one. Language was already present at least 135,000 years ago and organized our cognitive system to allow for high-level abstract thinking. It also allowed Homo sapiens to communicate extensively. This led to the systematic emergence of the modern human behaviors we know, around 100,000 years ago.

Agência FAPESP – You developed the “integration hypothesis” for the evolution of human language, which proposes the combination of simpler systems, such as birdsong and the warning cries of primates. How does this hypothesis relate to the findings presented in the recent article?

Miyagawa – The integration hypothesis deals with how language may have formed from already existing forms of communication, which we observe in birds, monkeys, and other animals. The recent article doesn’t really address the origin of language, as the integration hypothesis does. In it, we tried to identify precisely when language was already present in the initial population of Homo sapiens. As far as we know, this is the first truly empirical study of language in evolution.

Agência FAPESP – In light of the study, how do these findings influence our understanding of current linguistic diversity and the common origin of modern languages?

Miyagawa – They indicate that we had a common origin not only as a species but also in the way we communicate – that is, in language. As Homo sapiens spread, so did language. And with each division, a new version of the language emerged, which led to today’s diversity. Today there are around 7,000 languages, although we estimate that by the end of the century, this number will be halved due to language loss. Looking to the past, we estimate that up to 31,000 languages once existed, most of which have been lost.

Agência FAPESP – Although the article focuses on Homo sapiens, is there any indication or evidence of some form of language – however rudimentary – in other extinct human species, such as Homo neanderthalensis or Homo heidelbergensis? How do you evaluate these possibilities in light of recent findings?

Miyagawa – Our work doesn’t say anything about the type of communication that previous species may have had. They certainly communicated, as birds, monkeys, frogs, and other animals do. In fact, Alfred Russel Wallace, a contemporary of Charles Darwin and co-author of the theory of natural selection, said that he didn’t see any problem that could be solved by language that couldn’t be solved without it. What he meant was that Homo sapiens probably already communicated well before language, as did Neanderthals and other human ancestors. There was no need for language, but it emerged nonetheless, although it took tens of thousands of generations to become the complex system we know today.

Agência FAPESP – Although your research mainly examines human linguistic ability, some studies suggest that certain animal species exhibit communication systems with properties similar to language. Could you comment on this evidence and the possible implications for our understanding of the biological foundations of language?

Miyagawa – We need to take a closer look at what other animals are capable of. We’ve been too focused on humans as the sole holders of this complex system. It’s as if we were in a pre-Copernican era of evolutionary studies, with humans at the center and other animals orbiting around them. As we learn more about what other animals are capable of, such as some of the monkeys I myself have studied, we begin to see that there are parts of language that are shared with other animals. Human language simply brought together parts that already existed in nature to create the extraordinary system we have today.

Agência FAPESP – What are the next steps or future studies that you think are necessary to deepen our understanding of the evolution of language in Homo sapiens?

Miyagawa – As part of the FAPESP SPEC project, we’re studying a variety of animals, such as monkeys, birds, and, more recently, frogs, to investigate what systems they possess that may have contributed to human language.

The article “Linguistic capacity was present in the Homo sapiens population 135 thousand years ago” is available at: www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1503900/full.