A study by an international team published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in 2021 confirms that Neanderthals had a complex communication system similar to the speech of modern humans.
The study, conducted by an international interdisciplinary team including anthropology professor Rolf Quam from Bingham University, has attracted attention for its findings. The team analyzed digital reconstructions of Neanderthal skulls using high-resolution computed tomography, creating virtual 3D models of ear structures.
A software model developed in the field of auditory bioengineering allowed the team to estimate Neanderthal hearing in the range up to 5 kHz, corresponding to modern human speech. The study also found that Neanderthals had a wider bandwidth, indicating a complex oral communication system similar to modern humans.
Lead author of the study, Professor Mercedes Conde-Valverde, emphasized the importance of the results: “The similar hearing abilities demonstrate that Neanderthals had a communication system that was efficient and complex, similar to modern human speech.”
However, in addition to the discoveries in hearing, the researchers suggested that Neanderthal speech likely included more frequent use of consonants, adding a new dimension to the understanding of the language abilities of ancient ancestors.
One of the study's authors, Ignacio Martinez, emphasized the importance of these results after many years of research: "We believe that after more than a century of research on this question, we have given a definitive answer to the question of the speech abilities of Neanderthals."