However, we can use different types of evidence to estimate its age:
* Fossil evidence: The earliest evidence of symbolic behavior comes from about 100,000 years ago, with the appearance of cave paintings and other forms of art. However, it's difficult to know if these are directly related to language.
* Genetics: Some researchers believe that language evolved alongside certain gene mutations, which occurred roughly 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
* Human evolution: The human brain has evolved significantly over the past million years. It's likely that language developed alongside these changes, but it's difficult to pinpoint the exact timing.
* Comparative linguistics: By comparing different languages, we can trace their evolution back to common ancestors. This suggests that language has been around for at least tens of thousands of years.
Based on all this evidence, a reasonable estimate for the age of language is somewhere between 50,000 and 200,000 years. It's important to remember that this is just an estimate, and the actual age of language could be much older or younger.