The Origins of Music--Signals & Noise

Dan Finkel, Department of Anthropology, UConn

Music is a human universal. In many parts of the world, music is something everyone does throughout their lives and its ubiquity suggests it may be an evolved part of human nature. If this is the case, what possible adaptive value might music possess? This question has been the subject of passionate inquiry and debate among researchers, and though a wide variety of answers have been offered, there is still a lack of convincing evidence that music is an adaptation.

The talk will examine the various theories concerning the evolutionary origins of music in order to determine what, if anything, we can really say about how music came to be a central part of the human experience. Then, an attempt is made to unify the evolutionary theories under an umbrella "signaling" theory... after all, music is a signal with both transmitters and audience, and could be approached from a behavioral ecology perspective.

Adults and children ages 10 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and the Department of Anthropology, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn.

860.486.4460 - http://www.mnh.uconn.edu/

More information available at: http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar.html

Contact Information For further information regarding this event, please contact:

• David Colberg
• 860.486.5690
• david.colberg@uconn.edu