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The aim of this paper is twofold: to propose that conversation is the distinctive feature ofHomo sapiens ' communication; and to show that the emergence of modern language is tied to the transition from pantomime to verbal and grammatically complex forms of narrative. It is suggested that (animal and human) communication is a form of persuasion and that storytelling was the best tool developed by humans to convince others. In the early stage of communication, archaic hominins used forms of pantomimic storytelling to persuade others. Although pantomime is a powerful tool for persuasivecommunication , it is proposed that it is not an effective tool for persuasiveconversation : conversation is characterized by a form of reciprocal persuasion among peers; instead, pantomime has a mainly asymmetrical character. The selective pressure towards persuasive reciprocity of the conversational level is the evolutionary reason that allowed the transition from pantomime to grammatically complex codes inH. sapiens , which favoured the evolution of speech.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

Persuasive conversation as a new form of communication inHomo sapiens