From Hand to Mouth - The origins of language (Broché)

The notion that language evolved not from animal cries but from manual and facial gestures has been around since Condillac. But never before has anyone developed a full-fledged theory of how, why, and with what effects language evolved from a gestural system to the spoken word. Marshaling far-flung evidence from anthropology, animal behavior, neurology, molecular biology, anatomy, linguistics, and evolutionary psychology, Michael Corballis makes the case that language developed, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, from primate gestures to a true signed language, complete with grammar and syntax and at best punctuated with grunts and other vocalizations.
While vocal utterance played an increasingly important complementary role, autonomous speech did not appear until about 50,000 years ago—much later than generally believed. Writing with wit and eloquence, Corballis explains in fascinating detail what we now know about such varied subjects as early hominid evolution, modern signed languages, and the causes of left-handedness. From Hand to Mouth will have scholars and laymen alike talking—and sometimes gesturing—for years to come.