Neanderthals

[Tero]

Language Capability

The Neandertal ritual burial of their own dead implies a belief in an afterlife. This is basically a rudimentary religious concept. Likewise, the ritual burial of cave bear trophy heads is consistent with a supernatural belief system. The transmission of such beliefs from generation to generation very likely required a spoken language. Similarly, their tool making skills and other technical knowledge would suggest some sort of sophisticated communication.

Since the Neandertal brains had speech centers that were as large as our own (Broca's and Wernicke's areas), it is reasonable to assume that they were capable of language. The modern human variant of the FOXP2 gene has been found recently in the bones of two Neandertals from Northern Spain. This allele of the gene is associated with the ability to comprehend grammar and to control the mouth movements necessary to produce words. The implication is that Neandertals could comprehend and produce something like modern speech. The shape and position of the horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone in the neck of Neandertals was essentially the same as in modern humans. This has important implications for speech because the hyoid bone supports muscles in the jaw, tongue, and larynx. Its high location makes it possible to produce the extraordinarily wide range of human vocal sounds. However, since Neandertal mouths and nasal cavities were somewhat different in shape from our own, there is a question as to whether they would have been able to produce all of the vowels and consonants that we use today. Based on this chain of evidence, the current consensus among paleoanthropologists is that the Neandertals probably did have spoken language, though it may have sounded a bit odd to our ears.

enjoy!
http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_3.htm

[Clinton Huxley]

Saved for reading when I get bored at work. About 0901 next Monday.

[Svartalf]

Looks interesting, I didn't know that Acheuléan tools were mostly Neanderthal while Mousterian were Cro Magnon.

[JimC]

Shouldn't this be in the gun forum?



(sorry, real and interesting neanderthals, I couldn't help myself... )

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Shouldn't this be in the gun forum?



(sorry, real and interesting neanderthals, I couldn't help myself... )

The Gnu forum? Surely Shome Mishtake! Neanderthals coexist with gnus? I thought Neanderthals lived about 5,815 years ago and gnus have only been around for 4372 years?*



(*Source: Ken Ham, Ray Comfort, et al (2007): Things: When they happened, bibbalicically.)

[mistermack]

I've never been aware of any doubt that Neanderthals had language.

There's no reason to doubt it. I think the default assumption should be that a human ancestor had language, unless there are strong indications that they didn't.

It's in the bible. Adam and Eve were chatting away to each other. In fact, in those days, even SNAKES had language. And amazingly, it was the same language as humans.

The bit about the hyoid bone isn't accurate. Modern research has contradicted much of what used to be thought about it's significance.