Final answer:
Language evolution likely relied on pre-existing communicative systems before developing into the complex and symbolic forms characteristic of human communication today. It accelerated human cooperation and cultural evolution, suggesting a bi-directional relationship between the development of language and culture, often referred to as biocultural coevolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question of whether language evolution requires the existence of a communicative system that precedes it delves into the intricate relationship between biology, culture, and communication. It is widely acknowledged that language is a unique form of communication integral to the human species, distinguished from other forms of animal communication by its complexity and symbolic nature. Biological evolution provided the substrates for language in terms of brain structures and vocal mechanisms, enabling our ancestors to produce a wide array of sounds and eventually form languages.
The development of early communication systems, simple compared to full-fledged human languages, played a crucial role in the subsequent evolution of language. As a gregarious species, humans benefitted immensely from language as a social technology, which allowed for sophisticated cooperation and the transmission of complex ideas, both necessary for cultural advancements like tool making. The emergence of language is considered to have had a bi-directional relationship with culture, known as biocultural coevolution, in which cultural practices influenced biological developments and vice versa.
Moreover, archaeological and linguistic theories suggest that the emergence of language was closely tied to other major behavioral innovations such as the invention of tools. Essentially, the presence of a preliminary communicative system likely facilitated the genesis of the more intricate, symbolic, and flexible human languages that define our species today. As our ancestors began to craft tools and engage in more complex cultural practices, the necessity for a more advanced communication system would have become increasingly apparent, driving the evolution of language.