Communication and Locomotion. Communication and locomotion are two basic functions common to virtually all living creatures. Communication refers to the various ways in which organisms convey information to each other. Over the course of human evolution, these methods have included first noises and gestures, later intelligible speech, and still later, writing. Locomotion refers to the ways in which organisms move from place to place. Humans, naturally walkers and almost equally swimmers, learned to extend their range by riding on the backs of equids (donkeys, asses, and later horses) and oxen. They also learned to build and ride in vehicles—initially equipped with skids and later wheels—with equids or bovids harnessed to them. On the water, humans learned to propel floating objects by punting, paddling, rowing, sailing, and towing—first using found objects and later deliberately building watercraft of wood, bundles of reeds, or inflated...