Did Ancient Humans Have Names? What Dolphins and Elephants Reveal

Did ancient humans have names? A name is only a sound, and not one from the three hundred thousand years before writing survives, but the evidence points strongly to yes. You will learn why names are needed by groups that split up and rejoin, and how dolphins, parrots and possibly elephants use name-like calls. We explore names that change through life, a Kalahari system where sharing a name makes a stranger family, why so many societies forbid speaking the names of the dead, the disputed oldest written name, and why a name is a handle that lets a reputation travel. Chapters: 0:00 A Sound That Means Nothing 1:17 Why Groups Need Names 2:42 Dolphins, Parrots and Elephants 5:32 Human Names and Life Stages 7:26 Shared Names as Passports 9:31 Names of the Dead 11:37 The First Written Names 13:42 The Power of a Name #AncientHumans #Prehistory #Anthropology #History