The Neanderthal Throat – Did Neanderthals Speak?

Sandra Martelli, a researcher in biology and anatomy at the University College London, has been working with computer models to try to reconstruct the most likely configuration of the Neanderthal vocal tract. Martelli and colleagues took CT scans of modern human heads, including the hyoid, and mapped those on to CT scans of Neanderthal skulls to see where the Neanderthal hyoid (as represented by Kebara 1) likely sat. Martelli and her colleagues found that the most likely position for the Neanderthal hyoid was slightly forward from where the modern human hyoid bone sits, with no room for an apelike air sac.

Source: www.sapiens.org