SINGING NEANDERTHALS: THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC, LANGUAGE, MIND AND BODY

"In The Singing Neanderthals, Steven Mithen puts the popular notion of music as the language of emotion on a scientific basis, offering a new scenario for a shared musical and linguistic heritage. Structured in two parts, this book offers an array of evidence from the present which is exposed to fossil and archaeological records from the past. And fascinating ground is covered - from emotionally manipulative gibbons, through the neurological basis of music and language to the impact of happiness on helpfulness, and from the role of laughter in parent-child bonding to the impact of bipedalism on the brains and voices of our ancestors. In doing so, Mithen explains why there are such profound similarities and differences between music and language, and why music plays such a big part in all of our lives."--BOOK JACKET.