edited by Francesco Ferretti, Ines Adornetti

Understanding the origin and evolution of language has been defined as the hardest problem in science. From the perspective adopted in this special issue of Humana.Mente devoted to the origin and evolution of language, the fact that we can be proud of the extraordinary abilities that characterize our species does not contradict the notion that, indeed, these abilities can be attributed to the animal nature of human beings. The articles collected in this special issue reflect the inherently interdisciplinary nature of research on the origin and the evolution of language.