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The study aims to explore how various factors have influenced linguistic diversity throughout human history.

July 26, 2026Science

The rise and fall of language diversity through the Holocene

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The study aims to explore how various factors have influenced linguistic diversity throughout human history.
Combined statistical and social computational modeling with ethnographic data and paleodemographic inference
Analyzed trajectories of global linguistic diversity before and after plant and animal domestication
Investigated causes of linguistic diversity loss linked to empire expansion and pathogens
Linguistic diversity was lower before domestication, with language numbers increasing from 4500-6000 to 7500 today.
A linguistic 'golden age' occurred between 3000 to 1000 years ago with tens of thousands of languages.
Loss of linguistic diversity began earlier than previously understood, linked to the spread of multinational empires rather than recent colonial activities.

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Models global linguistic diversity over time, revealing the significant role of extinction in cultural evolution.

Blasí et al. (2026) studied this question.

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