Cultural evolution of music and language

Abstract Music and language are both forms of communication universally observed across human societies, prompting researchers to investigate why and how they evolved. Such research initially focused on the biological evolution of the capacities to create and perceive language and music; later work has been increasingly tackling the cultural evolution angle to study the mechanisms and processes driving the diversity and regularities of music and language. In this chapter, we review key studies of the cultural evolution of music and language. We group the review into observational studies (e.g. phylogenetic analysis), experimental studies (e.g. transmission chains), simulation studies (e.g. agent-based models), and music-language relationships (e.g. song/speech melody/prosody). Furthermore, we highlight key ideas that each discipline can learn from the other, and promising research topics to encourage collaborative work. In particular, we argue that more direct comparisons of music and language will help to better understand commonalities and differences in their evolution. This includes parallels (or lack thereof) in cognitive and motor constraints (e.g. memorability, ease of vocalization), cultural transmission mechanisms (e.g. vertical/horizontal transmission with/independent from human populations), and underlying biological bases (e.g. vocal learning). Integrating the emerging field of cultural evolution of music with the larger literature on language evolution will enrich our understanding of both music and language.