Symbolic Representation
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Hover over keys for definitions:Humans use symbols. Humans have the capability of symbolic representation. The language is based on the cognitive capability of symbolic representation. Do the nonhuman animals have the symbolic representation? Since 1960s, there has been a lot of study so-called "Ape language." Some studies claimed that the great apes mastered a rudimental form of language skills such as American Sign Language. However, the symbols (or signs) learned by the apes are limited to several hundreds and never exceeding thousands. The acquisition rate is not exponential like humans. There is no strong evidence of the grammatical rules of combining the symbols. Moreover, it is very difficult to establish the symbols that have the symmetrical (or equivalent) relationship.
References
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An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar, , Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2023, p.1-19, (2023)
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A worked bone assemblage from 120,000–90,000 year old deposits at Contrebandiers Cave, Atlantic Coast, Morocco, , iScience, 09/16/2021, (2021)
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Earliest parietal art: hominin hand and foot traces from the middle Pleistocene of Tibet, , Science Bulletin, 2021/09/10/, (2021)
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Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi, , Science Advances, 2021/01/01, Volume 7, Issue 3, p.eabd4648, (2021)
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The symbolic role of the underground world among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals, , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021/08/17, Volume 118, Issue 33, p.e2021495118, (2021)
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The origin, significance, and development of the earliest geometric patterns in the archaeological record, , Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019/04/01/, Volume 24, p.588 - 592, (2019)
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Volcanic eruption eye-witnessed and recorded by prehistoric humans, , Quaternary Science Reviews, 2019/05/15/, Volume 212, p.187 - 198, (2019)
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Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo, , Nature, 2018/11/07, (2018)
