...you should say that :-)
If you ask me, it goes back to Paleolithic Europe, 80,000 years ago.
Or so suggested J.-H. Rosny aîné in his novel, "Quest for Fire."
No, not THAT quest:
THAT QUEST (Jean-Jacques Annaud directed the 1981 film adaptation of it):
Most of it is purely speculative, of course.
Was the Neanderthal man taught humor? Did he ever get it, or did it remain purely an early Homo Sapiens Sapiens thing which first manifested amongst the Cro-magnons (the woman's tribe, in the movie)?
Current genetic evidences do suggest that the movie was not too far off about one thing: it would appear that interbreeding did take place between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens between roughly 80,000 and 50,000 years ago in the Middle East resulting in 1–4% of the genome of people from Eurasia having been contributed by Neanderthals.
But then again, some people do not believe in Evolution.
Apes have been known to laugh.
ReplyDeleteAt human beings, of course.
Since we can't speak the same language we can't ask what at? Instead we become indignant at this insufferable laughing.
What the hell's so funny?
And this from an ape, a mere ape, who's lower down the scale than us, and should marvel at our superiority, intellect, advancements and achievements.
And don't even get me started on the laughing hyena.
ReplyDeleteGiggles and grunt-laughter tend to be emitted in situations of great excitement, and perhaps indicate a conflicting tendency to flee or stay.
ReplyDeleteLaughing hyenas are also famous for their loud "whoop" audible for over 5 km (3 miles) or more. It is a rallying cry, which varies in speed and pitch according to the urgency of the situation. Another function of the whoop is to show off as individuals, the rate and style being an indicator of social status. Because of this, laughing hyenas whoop singly rather than in chorus as wolf packs do to display their collective strength.