5 November 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Researchers Say that Neanderthals Had the Same Hearing Capacity as Humans

Virtual reconstructions of Neanderthal ears show that had the same physical capacity for hearing as modern humans, and by inference could also make the same sounds we can – although whether they actually spoke a language is still unknown.

Mercedes Conde Valverde of the University of Alcala in Spain said: “We don’t know if they have a language, but at least they have all the anatomical parts they need.” “It’s not that they speak the same language, not English, It’s not Spanish. There is no language like this. But if we can hear them, we will recognize that they are human.”

Conde-Valverde and her colleagues used medical imaging software to create a virtual reconstruction of the Neanderthal’s outer ear and middle ear cavity based on a CT scan of the skull. Using these models, they can determine the range of sounds that Neanderthals can hear, and therefore may produce speech. The technology has previously been used to study the speech and hearing of other ancient humans and chimpanzees.

The team did the same for a group of fossils known as the hominins from Sima de Los Huesos, which are believed to be the direct ancestors of the Neanderthals. The results showed that, unlike these ancestors, Neanderthals had the same hearing ability as modern humans.

Comte-Valverde said that Neanderthals’ hearing was optimized to produce consonants commonly found in modern human languages, such as “s”, “k”, “t” and “th”.

Although we don’t know whether this means that they have the intelligence to develop languages, Comte Valverde said that recent archaeological evidence, including the use of stone tools, jewelry making, and artwork, suggests that Neanderthals’ complex behavior may be Show that they have language skills.

“It’s getting harder and harder to dismiss the fact that they probably had some kind of speech,” says Dan Dediu of the Lumière de Lyon 2 University in France. It was probably very similar to ours, but not identical, he says.

Nature Ecology and Evolution

Related Articles

Restoration of the Duomo of Florence has revealed original polychrome paint

1 December 2022

1 December 2022

During the restoration of the Porta dei Cornacchini and the marble cladding of the northern side of Florence’s Duomo, extensive...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Montenegro’s Unique Church With Two Altars is Disappearing

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

In the Spich plain, where the modern town of Sutomore in Bar, Montenegro is located, there were churches that served...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

Beer remains that are 9,000 years old have been discovered in China’s unique Hu pots

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Archaeologists in southeast China have discovered evidence of beer consumption in ceramic vessels at the burial site called Qiaotou. The...

Archaeologists in Peru discover a mummy tied with 800-year-old ropes

28 November 2021

28 November 2021

On Peru’s central coast, archaeologists discovered a mummy estimated to be at least 800 years old. The mummy’s body was...

Bronze Age and Roman-era settlements unearthed in Newquay

10 April 2023

10 April 2023

Archaeologists from the Cornwall Archaeological have uncovered ancient dwellings from the Bronze Age and a Roman period settlement in Newquay,...

The oldest Celtic Dice ever discovered in Poland

24 September 2023

24 September 2023

A dice, probably dating from the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC, was discovered at the Celtic settlement of Samborowice...

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

Excavations in Poland uncover Goth graves filled with ornate jewellery

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

A 2,000-year-old Goth burial site filled with ancient jewels has been discovered in Wda Landscape Park (Wdecki Park Krajobrazowy) near...

Khufu Boat moved to its New Museum by Smart Vehicle

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

A 4,600-year-old intact wooden boat bearing the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, Khufu, was transported to a new museum about...

A very Rare Medieval Pocket Sundial Discovered in Germany

31 July 2023

31 July 2023

A rare Medieval sundial, which is approximately the size of a matchbox was discovered in the old town of Marburg,...

Aldi construction uncovered Roman mosaic in UK

18 March 2023

18 March 2023

A team of Oxford Archaeology archaeologists discovered a Roman mosaic in the market town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. Ahead of...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

Southeast Asia’s oldest stringed instrument may be a 2,000-year-old antler

21 February 2023

21 February 2023

Archaeologists unearth a 2,000-year-old stringed instrument made from deer antler in southern Vietnam. This unusual deer antler may be one...