Documented Examples
The literature is full of examples we could use to illustrate this point. The following are just a sample to give you a basic idea about the kind of material available:
"It is reported that Akbar, who was an emperor in India from1542 to 1602, ordered that a group of children be brought up without any instruction in language to test the belief that they would eventually speak Hebrew, the language of God. The children were raised by deaf mutes. They developed no spoken language and communicated solely by gestures". |
| Haralambos: "Sociology:Themes and Perspectives" |
| "There is an extensive, though somewhat unreliable, literature on children raised by animals. One of the best documented cases concerns the so-called "wolf-children of Midnapore". Two females, aged two and eight, were reportedly found in a wolf den in Bengal in1920. They walked on all fours, preferred a diet of raw meat, they howled like wolves and lacked any form of speech. Whether these children had been raised by wolves or simply abandoned and left to their own devices in the forest is unclear". |
| Haralambos: "Sociology: Themes and Perspectives" |
| "On January 9th 1800 a strange creature emerged from woods near the village of Saint-Serin in southern France. In spite of walking erect, he looked more animal than human, although he was soon identified as a boy of about 11 or 12. He spoke only in shrill, strange-sounding cries. The boy apparently had no sense of personal hygiene and relieved himself where and when he chose. He refused to wear clothes, tearing them off as soon as they were put on him. No parents ever came forward to claim him. The child was subjected to a thorough medical examination, which turned up no abnormalities of a major kind. Later the boy was moved to Paris. He was toilet-trained, accepted wearing clothes and learned to dress himself. Yet he was uninterested in toys and games and was never able to master more than a few words.". |
| Giddens: "Sociology". |
| "In 1978 a girl of about 5 years of age was discovered on a farm in the United States. Since birth she had been completely isolated...This was done because she was illegitimate and the grandparents were ashamed. When discovered she could not walk, talk or feed herself and had no control over her bladder or bowels. She had great difficulty in understanding anything that was explained to her or done for her. After being taken from the farm and looked after, she made some progress, learning to feed herself, to speak a few sentences and to dress herself.". |
| Kingsley Davis: "Human Society". |