....Deliberation and cooperation also changed the social structure of primordial humans. According to some anthropologists, speech allowed beta-males to conspire against and kill alpha-males. This entailed a social revolution: communication diversified the ways of challenging power in the group. Physical strength ceased to be the decisive factor for procreation and leadership. The strongest ones started to be dependent on the support of the smartest ones; politics emerged. The harem-type family led by the strongest and most violent male grew to become a larger social unit led by the hierarchy of the strongest and savviest males, who shared resources, power and responsibility for communal well-being. The zoological violence and instinctive protectiveness transitioned to meritocracy and care. Herd became tribe. Thus, speech domesticated men at the levels of sensory reactions and social organization....
That's from Andrey Mir's short essay "Probe: a brief chart of media effects", March 11, 2023
