Research Statement for Evolution of Language

How did language evolve? Which are the evolutionary building blocks of human language? Did those capacities evolve uniquely for language, or can we relate them to other non-linguistic functions? Which other capacities "came with the package" when language evolved in our mind? Are those capacities only possible in organisms that possess a language? How can we study the evolution of language, when language did not leave any fossils to give us the necessary evidence? Why is the study of the language/communicative systems/cognitive abilities of contemporary non-human animals of any help for these questions?

(under construction)