An international multidisciplinary team recently published a paper which examined Neanderthal and modern human skulls. They were trying to answer “one of the central questions in human evolutionary studies.” That is, whether any supposed human ancestor could speak—including the Neanderthals.

Virtual 3-D models of the ear structures of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were made using CT scans. They were then tested using auditory software to calculate the hearing abilities up to 5 KHz. This “encompasses most of the frequency range of modern human speech sounds.” Neanderthals’ ability closely mirrored that of modern humans.

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Furthermore, they were able to calculate the ‘occupied bandwidth’ (the frequency range of maximum sensitivity). In humans this allows us to perceive a wide range of acoustic signals, including consonants, crucial for fully developed language. Here too the Neander­thals’ range was similar to those of humans today.

The similar hearing and bandwidth of Neanderthal hearing “really is the key,” said Mercedes Conde-Valverde. This shows that they “possessed a communication system that was as complex and efficient as modern human speech.”

The belief that Neanderthals were somehow more primitive is massively out of date. Among other things, they buried their dead, made jewellery, manufactured pitch, built domiciles outside of caves, made clothing from animal skins, and interbred with sapiens-type humans. They were post-Babel descendants of Noah who had the same anatomical design to communicate as any other human.

• Conde-Valverde, M, and 9 others, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens had similar auditory and speech capacities, Nat. Ecol. Evol., 1 Mar 2021.
• Binghamton University, New research shows Neanderthals had the capacity to perceive and produce human speech, scitechdaily.com, 1 Mar 2021.