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1.4.6 Coevolution: Examples in Animals
Both music and language have extremely similar phrase-based hierarchical structures and other similarities—so many that it’s highly unlikely they did not co-evolve.
The evidence indicates animal primate singing evolved several times independently (a phenomenon called convergence) from adaptive calls originally used to signal alarm or to advertise territorial claims. Ultimately, such calls evolved into music and language in various species of the Homo genus.
In animals such as great apes, for example, hoots and calls transmit information among groups about where individuals and sub-groups are hanging out, who’s looking fora mate, and what the neighbourhood primatologists are up to. Physical movements such as stomping and shaking branches often accompany vocalizations. In our hominid ancestors, such actions may well have evolved into rhythmic motion, reinforcing vocal calls.