The Origins of Music: Preface - Preface

larynx,without a tongue,with a greatly modified palate,without opening

the mouth,without hearing,and even without uttering sound.From our

perspective,brain anatomy,evidence for handedness,behavior patterns

(e.g.,art,burial of the dead),and archeological evidence for other

complex activities (e.g.,home bases) are fundamentally more important

indicators of language ability than is the sound-generating apparatus

(e.g.,Gibson 1991,1993;Schepartz 1993).

Consequently,whereas we review evolutionary changes in anatomical

regions related to speech production,we make no claim to a time when

language definitely appeared or music must have been part of the human

repertoire.It is possible,however,to determine when anatomical com-

ponents in the modern human speech apparatus appear to be in place,

allowing language and song to be coordinated by the brain.Coupled with

chapters in this book about brain areas involved with language and music

(e.g.,Jerison and Falk),readers may make up their own minds about

what constitutes critical evidence for determining when language and

song first appeared.

The Hyoid

The laryngeal portion of the vocal tract is made up primarily of carti-

lage,except for the hyoid bone,which caps the larynx and serves as the

attachment for muscles involved in swallowing and tongue movements,

and ligaments for anchoring the thyroid cartilage.In humans this horse-

shoe-shaped bone is not directly involved in speech-sound production,

but in apes and other primates it serves as the attachment for the laryn-

geal air sacs (Swindler and Wood 1973) that are important in some vocal-

izations.The human hyoid is distinct from that in other primates in that

it is broader across the base,shorter from top to bottom,and broader

across the greater horns (Swindler and Wood 1973).Although possibly

of limited value in predicting linguistic ability,the only two hyoids known

from the fossil record are completely modern in anatomy.If they were

fundamentally different, it would be straightforward to argue that

anatomical differences constituted important inadequacies in linguistic

production.But the fact that they are similar is used by some to suggest

that hyoid morphology is irrelevant to the question.

The most complete of these is the Kebara Neanderthal hyoid from a

middle Paleolithic context (~50,000 years ago) in Israel.According to the

description of the original (and our separate analysis),it

is not notably different,in either size or morphology,from that of modern human

hyoids.The relations of the hyoid to the mandible and cervical vertebrae prob-

ably did not differ from the modern pattern....These new data strongly suggest

219 Fossil Evidence for the Origin of Speech Sounds