A Brief History of Communication
What separates man from animal??
Communication.
Or, better said, coherent, effective communication.
But how did we go from communicating with gestures and facial expressions to being able to effortlessly express and transfer even the most nuanced thoughts?
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Today, we’re going back in time, all the way to the dawn of civilization — the moment humans developed the ability to communicate.
*** This article is the abridged, adapted version of the blog post originally published on the Pumble blog: https://pumble.com/blog/history-of-communication/?
5 to 7 million years ago
If we’re being honest, communication doesn’t really have a start date. It’s as old as we are.?
However, over the past 5 to 7 million years, it has changed form — gradually but dramatically.
When our earliest ancestors developed the ability to walk on 2 legs, they also developed the ability to communicate. It was rudimentary and mostly relied on facial expressions, gestures, and other non-verbal cues.
Body language played a big part in the daily life of our ancestors — it was often the only way to let someone know there was a bear behind them before they got eaten.
But things changed when early humans learned how to vocalize.
100,000 BCE
Around 100,000 BCE, our ancestors evolved enough to start using their vocal apparatus for just that — vocalizing.?
Of course, that doesn’t mean they instantly started developing language.?
However, they did add vocalization to their repertoire and, slowly, over time, started denoting specific sounds or combinations of sounds to objects, thoughts, and feelings — thus, giving meaning to them.?
So, speech was born.
50,000 BCE
Now, because there were only so many sounds our ancestors could produce, their speech was rudimentary, at best.?
So, they had to supplement it.?
Luckily, they had other ways of expressing themselves — as the world-famous cave paintings can attest.
Drawing and carving were the perfect solutions to bridging the gap between what our ancestors could say and what they needed to communicate.?
Communication via drawings and carvings is perhaps as old as speech — but the oldest cave paintings we’re aware of are around 51,200 years old.?
This particular communication tool helped our ancestors develop advanced language and communication systems that appeared around 3,500 BCE. It was such a vital part of communication that some remote tribes still used it in the 19th and 20th centuries.?
But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Before we jump to modern times, we first need to see how humans developed communication even further.
4th century BCE
Our ancestors went on to develop writing systems after mastering non-verbal, oral, and picture-assisted communication — as that is the natural progression of language development.
The debate is still ongoing when it comes to the question of the first writing system in the history of humanity. Some say it was the Sumerian, others that it was Egyptian, while some claim the first writing system was born in the Indus Valley.
We’ll likely never know for sure, but the truth is probably somewhere in between — writing systems developed in these areas probably saw the light of day at roughly the same time.
Back then, the most important vehicle for communication were clay tablets. People used them not only to communicate but also to develop various aspects of their lives, including invoicing and transactions, for example.??
15th century
Developing speech and language allowed humans to further evolve and develop civilization as we know it.?
And, with every new invention, humans found ways to make their communication more effective and efficient.
Few events changed the way we communicate (and function, in general) more than the invention of the printing press in 1440.
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The press allowed for quicker, more efficient, and cheaper production of books and reading materials, thus making information and education more accessible.
And what happens when people get access to knowledge?
Why, they expand it, of course.
19th century
One of the most famous people to expand our collective knowledge was Alexander Graham Bell. He was an absolute pioneer in the field of communication — at least when it comes to remote, real-time communication.
In 1876, Bell invented the telephone, thus making connecting with people and communicating possible even over long distances.?
He also set the stage for further developments in communication — as telephones became a staple in homes across the world in the 19th century, people started craving better remote connections.
And, as always, inventors delivered.
20th century
The 20th century was the era in which we saw both the first intercontinental phone call (in 1927) and the rise of an even more efficient communication tool — the Internet (in 1983).?
The fact that those 2 events are only separated by less than 60 years speaks volumes of the progress humans made in the field of communication.?
It may have taken us tens of thousands of years to develop vocalization, but once we did, there was no stopping us.
Especially when we invented the Internet, which allowed us to transfer knowledge and ideas faster than ever. The development of both the Internet and computers in general was rapid and fruitful.
It wasn’t long before we were able to communicate in real-time with people thousands of miles away thanks to email — a now outdated communication tool.?
Back then, email was all the rage. But, knowing what we know today, we’re happy we don’t have to rely on email for communication.
That’s possible, of course, mostly due to chat apps and other rudimentary communication software developed in the 90s.
21st century
After the birth of the first internet-based communication tools, it was only a matter of time before someone made a business-focused messaging app.
In 2010, it finally happened and professionals around the world got their first business communication tool.?
Somewhat lacking in specific features, the first team communication apps were everything a modern worker needed — at least back then.?
However, since progress is an essential part of human nature, it’s only logical that every tool at our disposal — team apps included — will continue to develop until perfection.
And so we entered the golden era of team messaging app development — the 2010s.?
Today, we can’t imagine a work day without at least one communication app.?
We depend on:
The future of communication — With Pumble
Who’d have thought that we’d go from cave paintings to team video calls in such a short time, right?
Although the pandemic accelerated the rise in popularity and use of modern communication tools such as team messaging apps, making them a vital part of our daily lives was inevitable.?
And, if history is any indication, we can guess what the future of communication might look like — with the fast-paced development of artificial intelligence, it looks mighty AI-assisted.
But, no matter what the future holds, we can know one thing for certain — humans will always strive to do better and to evolve.?
That’s especially true in the workplace. In an environment where you’re always one inefficient tool away from failure, having reliable, easy-to-use communication and collaboration tools is essential.?
Luckily — you have Pumble.?
Pumble is an all-in-one communication and collaboration tool made to be:
Here at Pumble, we always strive to be better. Continuous improvement of our app is our constant goal — and we’re looking forward to becoming an important footnote in the history of communication.
Be a part of the future. Communicate better — with Pumble. Sign up today!