>Perhaps the old "monkey see, monkey do" can be applied to raft
>building. Or perhaps the ole group meme has a mind of its own. I
>recall an old tale from the Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest in >which a
>group of males without uttering a single word knew when and >how to gather
>for a whale kill. Wondering whether those early folks >had a template for
>raft building in their heads?
>Gerry
Well, all I know is that chimps get along remarkably without "language" in
the vocal sense of the word. I don't see why making rafts has to be
something that requires vocal language. It can certainly be copied by others
who observe those who know how to make one. As for sailing off to another
island, this doesn't have to be something that the group _decided_ upon. It
could have been accident.
Even so, it is still not beyond a doubt whether or not these people had or
hadn't vocal language. I would have thought that they were biologically
incapable of the vocal language skills we have because of their tongue and
vocal chords? One would expect sign language or even body language like
among chimps to be a better tool of communication for them.
- gLeN
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