Thousands of Human Languages May Have Been Erased – Even Before Colonialism

A Science study modeled 12,000 years of language change using mobile hunter-gatherer and fishing societies.

It estimates global language diversity rose through most of the Holocene, peaked about 2,000 years ago, then declined sharply.

Researchers say tens of thousands of languages may have existed 1,000 to 3,000 years ago, with much of the loss happening before European colonial expansion.

The findings, by researchers including Claire Bowern and Damián Blasi, reshape views of cultural history, state expansion, and language endangerment.