Neanderthal language

1989/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Giza zientziak

Lately among us, Jean M. The books of the series “El clan del oso de cuevas”, by the American writer Auel, are very fashionable and come by hand. There is no doubt that the books are interesting and well written and provide interesting ideas about the life of the ancestors of our caves. The history of the Ayla cromagnon (homo sapiens sapiens neanderthalensis) is very emotional.

The book questions the ability of Neanderthaldares to speak and it is said that they could only pronounce a few words and sounds. His language was based on gestures, according to the writer.

The speaking capacity of Neanderthaldas, or lack of capacity, is an ancient subject among anthropologists. Many anthropologists have claimed that the Neanderthaldares could not speak like ours. The basis of this idea has been the different configuration of the speech apparatus.

A bone that the Israeli paleontologists have discovered has once again put the lawsuit to the top. In the skeleton of a Neanderthaldar about 50,000 years of age, they find a bone called hioid. This U-shaped bone plays a fundamental role in speaking ability. This has been the first bone found in the Neanderthaldares remains. The truth is that since this bone is very soft it is very difficult to fossilize and so far nothing similar has been found.

So far there has been little evidence of the apparatus of conversation. People have used the transversal paths to swim when man began to speak.

For some, Philips Tobias, for example, speech development began with the appearance of homo gender 2 million years ago. Others claim that modern man (homo sapien sapiens) started only 100,000 years ago.

There are also intermediate opinions and Jeffrey Latman believes that speech began 1.5 million years ago with the appearance of homo erectus.

However, the Neanderthaldarra evolutionary line poses problems to anthropologists and it is not very clear whether they are our direct ancestors or whether they are the last heirs of a dead homonymous line. However, the hioid bone found in Israel will reveal one more data in the speech problem, even if it is not determinant.