# How language transformed humanity

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDGlobal 2011
- Speaker: Mark Pagel
- Year: 2011
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Biology, Society and politics, Languages and linguistics
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

## Lectures

1. [How language transformed humanity](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity/89fa50178c25), 20 min (TED's player)