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Human evolution of gestural messaging and its critical role in the human development of music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Martin F. Gardiner Open the ORCID record for Martin F. Gardiner [Opens in a new window]
Martin F. Gardiner*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. martin_gardiner@brown.edu
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Abstract

By fostering bonding (Mehr et al.; Savage et al.), music illustrates marvelously its ability to induce emotional experience. But, music can induce emotion more generally as well. To help explain how music fosters bonding and induces other emotions, I propose that music derives this power from the evolution of what I term “gestural messaging.”

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Open Peer Commentary
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Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e99
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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