Spell It: An eyebrow flash or handshake... communication that ancient humans would understand
We learn that common gestures we use today would have still been relevant in ages past
Long before human beings talked to each other and developed language skills, there was another form of communication that worked well enough: body language.
Click start to play today’s Spell It, where we ‘piece’ together how ancient humans managed to have meaningful exchanges without a single spoken word.
Many of the gestures, facial expressions and body movements we use today have historical roots. Here are five nonverbal cues that we still use, which ancient humans would easily recognise, according to a November 2023 report in the US-based psychology news website Psychology Today:
1. Eyebrow flash
Have you ever made eye contact with someone you know, and just briefly raised an eyebrow in greeting? The Austrian ethologist Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt first looked into this facial movement decades ago. It’s considered one of the earliest forms of greeting. Today, it’s evolved into an even more complex but self-sufficient gesture. It’s a standard greeting you’d commonly see among young men – a toss of the head accompanied by an eyebrow flash.
2. Handshake
It’s what likely every modern-day businessperson does over and over, every day. But the handshake has its roots in early warring tribes around the world. Extending an open hand showed that the individual did not have a weapon, and came in peace, and the other side often reciprocated the gesture. As time passed, it eventually led to a form of understanding where one would grasp the other person’s hand in a handshake. In the Roman epoch, the handshake had an even more nuanced meaning; it indicated friendship or loyalty.
3. Begging
How do you ask for food, if you’re starving and hungry? The gesture of begging – extending an open, cupped palm – evolved from humans asking each other to share food. It’s still easily identifiable as a request for sustenance, in modern times.
4. Pupil dilation
As with a December 2021 study published in the journal Scientific Reports, research in nonverbal communication has repeatedly shown that women with dilated pupils are perceived to be more attractive. But people throughout the centuries have intuitively been aware of this fact, long before scientific studies were established. During the Renaissance period in Europe, women would put drops of belladonna extract into their eyes – the poisonous nightshade plant successfully dilated their pupils. Unfortunately, frequent use of it also caused vision problems, which many women found out in later years.
What do you think of these age-old nonverbal cues that are still accurate today? Play today’s Spell It and let us know at games@gulfnews.com .