Since Lieberman and Crelin (1971) postulated a theory that Neandertals were speechless species, the speech capability of Neandertals has been a subject of hot debate for over 30 years and remains as a controversial question. These authors claimed that the acquisition of a low laryngeal position during evolution is a necessary condition for having a vowel space large enough to realize the necessary vocalic contrasts for speech. Moreover, Neandertals didn't posses this anatomical base and therefore could not speak, presumably causing their extinction. In this study, we refute Lieberman and Crelin's theory by showing, first with the analysis of biometric data, that the estimated laryngeal position for two Neandertals is relatively high, but not as high as claimed by the two authors. In fact, the length ratio of the pharyngeal cavity to the oral cavity, i.e., an acoustically important parameter, of the Neandertals corresponds to that of a modern female adult or of a child. Second, using an anthropomorphic articulatory model, the potentially maximum vowel space estimated by varying the model morphology from a newborn, a child, a female adult and to a male adult didn't show any relevant variation. We infer then that a Neandertal could have a vowel space no smaller than that of a modern human. Our study is strictly limited to the morphological aspects of the vocal tract. We, therefore, cannot offer any definitive answer to the question whether Neandertals actually spoke or not. But we feel safe saying that Neandertals were not morphologically handicapped for speech.
Boë, Louis-Jean, Jean-Louis Heim, Kiyoshi Honda, Shinji Maeda, Pierre Badin & Christian Abry
2007. The vocal tract of newborn humans and Neanderthals: Acoustic capabilities and consequences for the debate on the origin of language. A reply to Lieberman (2007a). Journal of Phonetics 35:4 ► pp. 564 ff.
de Boer, Bart & W. Tecumseh Fitch
2010. Computer Models of Vocal Tract Evolution: An Overview and Critique. Adaptive Behavior 18:1 ► pp. 36 ff.
Ekström, Axel G. & Jens Edlund
2023. Evolution of the human tongue and emergence of speech biomechanics. Frontiers in Psychology 14
Fitch, W. Tecumseh, Bart de Boer, Neil Mathur & Asif A. Ghazanfar
2016. Monkey vocal tracts are speech-ready. Science Advances 2:12
Fitch, W. Tecumseh, Bart de Boer, Neil Mathur & Asif A. Ghazanfar
2017. Response to Lieberman on “Monkey vocal tracts are speech-ready”. Science Advances 3:7
Frayer, David W.
2017. Talking Hyoids and Talking Neanderthals. In Human Paleontology and Prehistory [Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, ], ► pp. 233 ff.
Lieberman, Philip
2002. On the nature and evolution of the neural bases of human language. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 119:S35 ► pp. 36 ff.
Lieberman, Philip
2007. The Evolution of Human Speech. Current Anthropology 48:1 ► pp. 39 ff.
Lieberman, Philip
2007. Current views on Neanderthal speech capabilities: A reply to Boe et al. (2002). Journal of Phonetics 35:4 ► pp. 552 ff.
Lieberman, Philip
2012. Vocal tract anatomy and the neural bases of talking. Journal of Phonetics 40:4 ► pp. 608 ff.
Lieberman, Philip
2017. Comment on “Monkey vocal tracts are speech-ready”. Science Advances 3:7
Pennisi, Antonino & Alessandra Falzone
2016. Bio-Linguistic Plasticity and Origin of Language. In Darwinian Biolinguistics [Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, 12], ► pp. 211 ff.
2020. Pantomime as the original human-specific communicative system. Journal of Language Evolution 5:2 ► pp. 156 ff.
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