Homo heidelbergensis was named for a jaw of this species discovered near the town of Mauer, southeast of Heidelberg, Germany in 1907. "I think the most important point we're trying to make is that modern language is old, which means that there has been a lot of time for language to become changed and shaped by culture and biology," Dediu said. It’s fair to concede Heidelbergensis if you require spoken language. By smacking their lips using click languages. They emphasize that the language faculty emerged by a sudden mutation in the last 50–100 ky (e.g., Klein, 2000; Chomsky, 2012, 2015; Berwick et al., 2013). The behavior induced the selection. Some language scientists defend an anti-Darwin account and believe in the saltational evolution of modern language. In contrast, others claim that modern language is the product of a gradual co-evolution of neurobiological and cultural-li Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of human that is identified in both Africa and western Eurasia from roughly 700,000 years ago onwards until around 200,000 years ago – fitting snugly within the Middle Pleistocene. Homo erectus first appeared in Africa more than 1.8m years ago and is thought to be the first archaic human to leave the continent.. H. erectus fossils have turned up not only in Southern Europe, but as far afield as China and Indonesia.Some argue that the mysterious hominid Homo floresiensis, discovered on the island of Flores, could be descended from H. erectus – although others disagree. Neanderthals, Denisovans May Have Had Their Own Language, Suggest Scientists. This skull shows a mixture of features of Homo erectus and H. heidelbergensis, to which it is sometimes assigned. Of course this is speculative, but hey, just trying to see how far back one could argue. Comparison of Neanderthal and modern human DNA suggests that the two lineages diverged from a common ancestor, most likely Homo heidelbergensis, sometime between 350,000 and 400,000 years ago – with the European branch leading to H. neanderthalensis and the African branch (sometimes called Homo rhodesiensis) to H. sapiens. How could people speak? In spite of a proliferation of names for Homo species that preceded Neanderthals (rudolfensis, ergaster, heidelbergensis, naledi, floresiensis and so on), the evidence is unclear for all but three species – erectus, neanderthalensis and sapiens. It consists of a fairly complete face, with five molars and part of the brain case. Since then, f ossils of Homo heidelbergensis have been found throughout the Old World from tropical to temperate zones.These widespread populations show regional variations in physical appearance.

"It didn't happen overnight." And it's even possible that the languages we speak today retain some elements of Neanderthal language. ... and the emergence of Homo heidelbergensis.