Neanderthal Language: Discovering the Communication of Ancient Humans

KOMPAS.com – There is a question that is quite difficult to solve until now, namely how did ancient humans, such as Neanderthals, communicate.

The reason is, this prehistoric man was extinct long before the invention of recording equipment. Fossils also can not reveal it.

This leaves archaeologists with no way of knowing whether Neanderthals, modern human cousins, had language skills or not.

The language spoken by Neanderthals

But in a study that has yet to be published, researchers say prehistoric Neanderthal humans had developed a strange language to communicate.

“Neanderthals almost certainly spoke a language very similar to ours, but apparently less structurally complex and functionally less flexible,” said Antonio Benitez-Burraco, a linguist at the University of Seville.

Also read: How did Neanderthals find food?

As quoted from IFL Science, Tuesday (4/7/2023) the conclusion regarding the language used by Neanderthals is the result of a multidisciplinary analysis of ancient human speech, combining anatomical, socio-cultural, cognitive, environmental and genetic evidence.

The researchers explained that Neanderthal vocal tracts were very similar to those of humans, indicating that they were capable of producing most of the same sounds as us.

Similarly, their hearing was similar to that of modern humans, all of which indicate that they possessed the necessary anatomy for complex vocal communication.

The difference with modern human language

However, the shape of the Neanderthal cranial cavity suggests that their brains were less globular than humans.

That means the thalamus, or the area involved in language processing in the Neanderthal brain, may have been less prominent.

Read also: Neanderthals became extinct due to mating with Homo sapiens, study explains

2023-07-05 02:00:00
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