Philosophers and scientists have connected human physical behavior with meaning, mood and personality for thousands of years, but only in living memory has the study of body language become as sophisticated and detailed as it is today. The ancient Greeks, notably Hippocrates and Aristotle, considered the aspects of body language probably through their interest in human personality and behavior, and the Romans, notably Cicero, related gestures to feelings and communications. Francis Bacon (1605) explored gestures as reflection or extension of spoken communications. John Bulwer (1644) considered hand gestures, and Gilbert Austin’s Chironomia (1806) looked at using gestures to improve speech-making. Darwin could be regarded as the earliest expert to have made serious scientific observation about body language. Charles Darwin’s (1800s) work pioneered much ethological thinking. Ethology began as science of animal behavior properly established during the early 1900s and increasingly extended to human behavior and social organization. Ethologists have progressively applied their findings to human behavior, including body language, reflecting the evolutionary origins of much human nonverbal communication. Desmond Morris (1971) linked human behavior—much of it concerned with communications—to human ‘animalistic’ evolution.

English Studies Journal, Body Language, Body Language Analysis, Facial Expression, smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn or sneer, Eye Contact, Body Gestures, Communication Tool .