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Trade review
Absorbing exploration of a topic which suggests that language evolved as a way of keeping together groups of early man, but was initially developed by women. Primates form social relationships through grooming, and it is women's gossiping and strong relationships which underpins society, and not men's as previously thought. From the author of "The Trouble With Science". Line drawings and diagrams throughout.
Synopsis
Here, the author examines gossip as a form of 'verbal grooming', and as a means of strengthening relationships. He challenges the idea that language developed during male activities such as hunting, and that it was actually amongst women that it evolved.