Scientists Compare Neanderthal Language to Modern Humans

When we stop to think about subjects related to languages, many curiosities arise and one of the most frequent questioning is about the similarity of modern human language with some other any.

Studies suggest that the neanderthals they had a way of speaking very similar to ours, however, structurally speaking, it was much simpler. See below for more details on this subject.

Was the language of the Neanderthals the same as ours?

A recent study by the linguist Antonio Benítez-Burraco concluded that neanderthalsthey had a communication very similar to that of current humans. This comparison is also present in the production of sounds and auditory capabilities.

In that same research, it was said that the cranial cavity of these peoples was less globular than when compared to ours, therefore, the difficulty in processing a conversation was much greater. In addition, the limitation to develop more complex structures was also present.

A little more about this species

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), a now extinct hominid species, inhabited all of Europe and some parts of Asia during the Middle Paleolithic period.

Due to the lack of cultural adaptation, the species found itself unable to engage in hierarchical thinking and innovation, as all resources were more limited.

Going back to talking about the language, it is believed that the speech of these peoples had fewer functional categories and the sounds were not as distinct as they are today. Regarding the transmission of more elaborate and, for the moment, sophisticated sounds, they also presented many difficulties.

The possibility was also raised that factors such as cold and drought influenced communication, as there was a tendency towards the constant use of consonants in the Neanderthal language.

What matters, in fact, is that it is difficult for us to know how these peoples actually spoke, however, it is a certainty that the capacitieslinguisticof them were quite different from us modern humans.