Scientists believe the first complex conversation between humans took place around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago . Much of it , they say , involved cavemen grunting , or hunter-gatherers mumbling and pointing , before learning to speak in a detailed way . But in a new study , one linguist argues that human language developed rapidly with people quickly using complex sentences that sound like our own . Scientists believe the first complex conversation between humans gradually took place around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago . Much of it , they believe , still involved cavemen grunting , or hunter-gatherers mumbling and pointing , before learning to speak in a detailed way . 'The hierarchical complexity found in present-day language is likely to have been present in human language since its emergence , ' says Shigeru Miyagawa , Professor of Linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Most scholars believe that humans first started using a 'proto-language ' , which was a primitive kind of communication with only a gradual development of words and syntax . But according to Professor Miyagawa , single words bear traces of syntax showing that they must be descended from an older , syntax-laden system , rather than from simple , primal utterances . 'Since we can find syntax within words , there is no reason to consider them as 'linguistic fossils ' of a prior , presyntax stage , ' he adds . In a new study , one linguist argues that human language likely developed rapidly with people quickly using complex sentences that sound like our own . Pictured is a reconstruction of of Rhodesian Men . Remains from this species have been dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years ago . Professor Miyagawa has a different theory about what created human language . He says humans combined an 'expressive ' layer of language , as seen in birdsong , with a 'lexical ' layer , as seen in monkeys who utter isolated sounds , such as alarm calls . The 'integration hypothesis ' suggests that whatever first caused them , these layers of language blended rapidly . In his paper , Professor Miyagawa writes that a single word today can be 'internally complex , often as complex as an entire phrase , ' making it less likely that words we use today are descended from a presyntax mode of speech . 'Nationalisation ' for example starts with 'nation , ' a noun ; adds '-al ' to create an adjective ; adds '-is ( a ) ' to form a verb ; and ends with '-tion , ' to form another noun , albeit with a new meaning . 'Hierarchical structure is present not only in single words , but also in compounds , which , contrary to the claims of some , are not the structureless fossilised form of a prior stage , ' he says . The researchers arrived at their conclusions by conducting a series of experiments in teaching students the art of 'Oldowan stone-knapping ' The very first rudimentary communcation between our ancestors took place much earlier , say one group of scientists . Earlier this year , researchers argued that cavemen initially began communicating 2.5 to 1.8 million years ago - and they were talking about DIY . The international study found stone tool-making drove the evolution of language among our human ancestors in the African savannah . It suggests communication among our earliest ancestors may have been more complex than previously thought , and that tool-making helped drive evolution . The researchers , who included scientists at the University of Liverpool and St Andrews , arrived at their conclusions by conducting a series of experiments in teaching students the art of 'Oldowan stone-knapping ' . This is when butchering 'flakes ' are created by hammering a hard rock against certain volcanic or glassy rocks , like basalt or flint . Oldowan stone-knapping dates back to the Lower Paleolithic period in eastern Africa , and remained largely unchanged for 700,000 years until more sophisticated Acheulean hand-axes and cleavers were developed . In testing five different ways to convey Oldowan stone-knapping skills to more than 180 college students , the researchers found that the demonstration that used spoken communication – versus imitation , non-verbal presentations or gestures – yielded the highest volume and quality of flakes . The same analysis applies to words in Romance languages that have been described elsewhere as remnants of formless proto-languages . In Italian , 'porta asciuga-mani ' - literally 'carry dry-hands , ' but today colloquially meaning 'towel holder ' - is one such case , where a compound derived from old words has a clear internal structure . Researchers think the integration hypothesis could generate a productive set of research questions . Andrea Moro , a professor of linguistics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Pavia , Italy , who edited the paper , calls it a 'very interesting ' critique of the idea that human language developed gradually . However , Professor Moro suggests there is an 'intuitive difference ' between cases where words assemble to form either a compound word or a sentence . He believes it is possible that studies of the concept of 'symmetry-breaking , ' a potentially distinctive part of sentence formation , 'may offer new empirical data to test the hypothesis and shed light on the birth of human language . '
Complex human conversation began around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago . Professor Shigeru Miyagawa notes single words bear traces of syntax . For example, the word " dog " is a combination of two separate sounds that are both pronounced as one sound. He believes humans combined an 'expressive ' layer of language , as seen in birdsong , with a 'lexical ' layer , as seen in monkeys .