Using a niche-construction view of human evolution, Bickerton has hypothesized that human ancestors used iconic signs as recruitment signals in the scavenging of dead megafauna. This process "would have created new words and deployed old words in new contexts, further weakening the uncoupling of words from situations, from current occurrence—even from fitness", and thus allowing for the creation of symbolic language.
using a niche-construction view of human evolution bickerton has hypothesized that human ancestors used iconic signs as recruitment signals in the scavenging of dead megafauna this process "would have created new words and deployed old words in new contexts further weakening the uncoupling of words from situations from current occurrence—even from fitness" and thus allowing for the creation of symbolic language