It’s common consensus the cognitive revolution did not occur till around 50,000 years back.

Of course, prior to that there would have been communication and a form of basic speech, but there was a genetic development around 50,000 years back that allowed for the complex speech we are capable of today.

It was the final step that allowed language as we know it to develop, so complex forms.

The book Sapiens covers the subject best, though there has been further developments since its release in regards to the structures we evolved that allowed it to happen, the gist is still the same!


Thanks for the comment, John!