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A boldly comparative approach will strengthen co-evolutionary accounts of musicality's origins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Luke Rendell Open the ORCID record for Luke Rendell [Opens in a new window] ,
Emily L. Doolittle ,
Ellen C. Garland Open the ORCID record for Ellen C. Garland [Opens in a new window]  and
Alex South
Luke Rendell
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution & Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, FifeKY16 9TH, [email protected]; www.st-andrews.ac.uk/biology/people/ler4
Emily L. Doolittle
Affiliation:
Research and Knowledge Exchange, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, GlasgowG2 3DB, [email protected]; https://www.rcs.ac.uk/staff/emily-doolittle
Ellen C. Garland
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution & Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, FifeKY16 8LB, [email protected]; www.st-andrews.ac.uk/biology/people/ecg5
Alex South
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution & Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, GlasgowG2 3DB, UK.; [email protected]; www.alexsouth.org
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Abstract

Focus on the evolutionary origins of musicality has been neglected relative to attention on language, so these new proposals are welcome stimulants. We argue for a broad comparative approach to understanding how the elements of musicality evolved, and against the use of overly simplistic evolutionary accounts.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e89
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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