The Strange Tools of Human Communication

The Strange Tools of Human Communication: The Voice, the Pen, and the Lyre is a thought-provoking exploration of the everyday tools of communication that weaves together history, art, and science to reveal how the voice, hand, and mind shape our shared experiences.

Through a blend of scholarly research, personal insights, and field experiences - from the oral tales of Sierra Leone's Limba storytellers to ancient cave art and modern iconography - this book offers fresh perspectives on how we connect across time and cultures. Challenging the idea that spoken language alone defines humanity, it emphasises the crucial role of hands, gestures, and artistic forms as the foundation of human communication. Readers are invited to consider the possibility of an ancestral, shared consciousness and the mysterious similarities in ancient art worldwide. Through vivid examples and personal insights, the book redefines communication as a blend of conscious expression and subconscious influence, inviting readers to consider the hidden connections that unite us across cultures and time, and to contemplate the future of communication.

The Strange Tools of Human Communication is an ideal supplement to upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in cultural anthropology, sociocultural linguistics, and cultural studies.

"What I admired most was the book's atmosphere of intelligent wonder. Finnegan writes like a scholar who still feels genuine astonishment at her subject, and that astonishment is contagious.... This is a thoughtful book for curious readers who don't mind following an original mind down winding paths."

- Literary Titan