“Music is every­where, but it remains an evo­lu­tion­ary enigma. In recent years, archae­ol­o­gists have dug up pre­his­toric instru­ments, neu­ro­sci­en­tists have uncov­ered brain areas that are involved in impro­vi­sa­tion, and geneti­cists have iden­ti­fied genes that might help in the learn­ing of music. Yet basic ques­tions per­sist: Is music a deep bio­log­i­cal adap­ta­tion in its own right, or is it a cul­tural inven­tion based mostly on our other capac­i­ties for lan­guage, learn­ing, and emo­tion? And if music is an adap­ta­tion, did it really evolve to pro­mote mat­ing suc­cess as Dar­win thought, or other for ben­e­fits such as group coop­er­a­tion or mother-infant bonding?”

For the full story, please see the Atlantic.