Neanderthals’ ability to speak and hear was like modern humans

NEANDERTHALS could “speak”, scientists say, after a 3D reconstruction of an early human’s ear proves they had hearing and speech abilities similar to modern man.

Experts from the University of Alcalá, Madrid, created a virtual 3D reconstruction of a Neanderthal’s ear from fossils using high resolution CT (computerised tomography) scanning. They compared it to two other replicas — one representing their earlier “hominin” ancestor dug up at Spain’s “Pit of Bones” and the other Homo sapiens.

An auditory bioengineering model showed the interior structures mimicked the latter’s better hearing — especially between 3.5 to 5 khz. Crucially, this is a frequency range that contains acoustic information related to consonants.

Researchers say the findings suggest Neanderthals possessed “a type of language” not unlike those we use today.

It went well beyond the grunts of cavemen, or the “oohs” and “awws” of chimpanzees, but they were capable of voicing tricky consonants as well as easier vowels. These included the most difficult such as “th”, “w”, “b” and “v” sounds, which some people find impossible.

Lead author Prof Mercedes Condevalverde, an evolutionary anthropologist, said: “Neanderthals had similar hearing and speech capacity to modern humans.

“It is proof very probably they spoke.

It is the first robust palaeontological evidence of speech outside of our own species.”

The study, published in the British journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, also found Neanderthals shared a feature known as a wider occupied bandwidth.

This is a measurement linked to the efficiency of vocal communication, enabling a clear message to be sent in the shortest amount of time.

Prof Conde-valverde said: “This really is the key.

“The presence of similar hearing abilities, particularly the bandwidth, demonstrates the Neanderthals possessed a communication system that was as complex and efficient as modern human speech.”