Knots as a Tracers of Language Evolution

Juan Uriagereka (via John Hawkes) on the evidence that a mutation in the FoxP2 regulator gene about 200,000 years ago lead to the appearance of language in humans:

What show up in the archeological record around this time are drastically different human behaviors. For instance, Marta Camps and I have shown that there is no evidence for the ability to tie and untie knots prior to the FOXP2 mutation. No other animals besides humans can tie or untie knots, and based on its computational complexity, it seems likely that this ability is a parasite, piggybacking on the mechanics of language. It was knots which then gave us the means to produce footwear, arrows, jewelry, and other similar objects not observed prior to this time.