Middle Paleolithic Culture 199hyoid bone associated with the muscles of speech in the
larynx is preserved from a skeleton from the Kebara Cave
burial in Israel. Its shape is identical to that of contempo-
rary humans, indicating that the vocal tract was adequate
for speech.
With respect to the brain, paleoneurologists, working
from endocranial casts, are agreed that Neandertals had
the neural development necessary for spoken language.
Indeed, they argue that the changes associated with lan-
guage began even before the appearance of archaic Homo
sapiens,^38 as described above. Consistent, too, is an ex-
panded thoracic vertebral canal (the thorax is the up-
per part of the body), a feature Neandertals share with
modern humans but not with early Homo erectus (or
any other primate). This feature suggests the increased
breath control required for speech.^39 This control en-
ables production of long phrases or single expirations of
breath, punctuated with quick inhalations at meaningful
linguistic breaks.
Another argument—that a relatively flat base in Nean-
dertal skulls would have prevented speech—has no merit,
as some modern adults show as much flattening, yet have
no trouble talking. Clearly, when the anatomical evidence
is considered in its totality, there seems no compelling
reason to deny Neandertals the ability to speak.tool kit, it might be supposed that they had some form of
language.
As pointed out by paleoanthropologist Stanley Am-
brose, the Mousterian tool kit included composite tools
involving the assembly of parts in different configura-
tions to produce functionally different tools. He likens
this ordered assembly of parts into tools to grammatical
language, “because hierarchical assemblies of sounds pro-
duce meaningful phrases and sentences, and changing
word order changes meaning.”^36 Furthermore, “a com-
posite tool may be analogous to a sentence, but explaining
how to make one is the equivalent of a recipe or a short
story.”^37 In addition, the evidence for the manufacture of
objects of symbolic significance supports the presence
of language in Middle Paleolithic Homo. Objects such as
the colored section of mammoth tooth already described
would seem to have required some form of explanation
through language.
While the archaeological evidence supports the sym-
bolic thinking characteristic of language, specific anatom-
ical features can be examined to determine whether this
language was spoken or gestural. Some have argued that
the Neandertals lacked the physical features necessary for
speech. For example, an early 20th-century reconstruction
of the angle at the base of the Neandertal skull was said
to indicate that the larynx was higher in the throat than it
is in modern humans, precluding humanlike speech. This
reconstruction is now known to be faulty. Further, theCourtesy of Marcel Otte
The first musical instrument? There is a strong possibility that this object, found in trash left by Neandertals,
is the remains of a flute made of bone.(^36) Ambrose, p. 1751.
(^37) Ibid.
(^38) Schepartz, p. 98.
(^39) MacLarnon, A. M., & Hewitt, G. P. (1999). The evolution of human
speech: The role of enhanced breathing control. American Journal of Physi-
cal Anthropology 109, 341–363.