Before we uttered our first words… our minds were already bustling with experiences, emotions, and perceptions. The pre-linguistic mind is a realm of pure sensation, intuitive understanding, non-verbal communication… exploring our pre-verbal communication.
The Stone Age (The Paleolithic Era: 2.6 million years ago – 12,000 years ago) is the setting of the ‘pre-linguistic’ mind.
Pre-Verbal Communication
During this period, our ancestors relied heavily on non-verbal communication… Gestures and Body Language, Vocalizations and Visual Communication
Gestures and Body Language
- Emblems: specific gestures with well-defined meanings, a wave goodbye or a thumbs-up.
- Illustrators: These help to illustrate points or ideas, pointing to an object or tracing a shape in the air.
- Regulators: controlling the flow of conversation… nodding, shaking the head, raising an arm
- Affect Displays: conveying emotions, smiling, frowning or laughing.
Vocalizations
- Grunts and Groans: expressing pain, pleasure or surprise.
- Calls: warning cries or even mating calls, for communication over distance.
- Imitative Sounds: imitating the sounds of animals or natural phenomena, like wind, water or rain.
Visual Communication
- Pictograms: simple drawings that represent specific objects or ideas.
- Ideograms: symbols representing abstract concepts, such as emotions or actions.
- Petroglyphs: rock carvings depicting hunting scenes, religious rituals or social gatherings.
This kind of non-verbal communications allowed individuals to interact with each other, cooperate on tasks, and share information about their environment. These non-verbal communication systems likely provided the foundation for the development of more complex forms of language, including spoken and written language.
Other Pre-Verbal Communication and Early Humans
Along with facial expressions, gestures, etc… Early humans would have been more influenced and in harmony with chemical messengers like pheromones and the electromagnetic heart field etc. These forms of communication may have facilitated the development of self-awareness and introspection without the use of words.
Intuition and Gut Feelings…
A sudden surge of unease, a prickle on the back of the neck, or a sense of being watched could alert them to the presence of a predator, even if they couldn’t consciously identify the source of their apprehension. Gut feelings would have warned and enlightened the decision making process.
These gut feelings are complex responses that draw upon a vast wealth of information… including past experiences, learned associations, and subconscious perceptions. These feelings played a crucial role in shaping the behavior, guiding decisions, and ultimately contributing to success.
Pre-Linguistic Thinking…
Experience of the world through the senses without language… forming associations and memories (Visual, Auditory) without the filter of language.
These forms of communication may have facilitated the development of self-awareness and introspection without the use of words.
The mind and body are deeply interconnected… Physical sensations and movements influence our mental states, and our thoughts and emotions can manifest in the physical world.