Language of the Neanderthal Essay Example for Free

linguistic process of the piggy EssayIt is understood that the neanderthal was an exceptional thinker and communicator but there argon impenetrable debates that question whether or non it spoke with a address. Some moot that the hyoid bone of the swinish was too high in relation to its larynx to enable its tongue to form words, while others argue the oppo settle. With respect to both theories, it was indeed a linguistic hominid. The unrefined skull is more similar in run to the Homo sapien than that of hominids before it which would make it reasonable to believe that it was able to direct using language. Since it was the transitional species however, it may take a shit been limited in its development of language usage.History of the NeanderthalBefore analyzing the arguments discussing the language utilise by the Neanderthals, it is important to understand what is known about them. Homo neanderthalensis is the last species in the evolution of hominids, which is not considered a new-made human. After rough(prenominal) years of study, and dozens of findings, scientists observed the differences in the shape of Neanderthal skulls compared to Homo sapiens. They discovered that the humour was little, the bones were much more robust, and that the Neanderthal had no chin. The first findings of Neanderthals were in Belgium, Germany, and Gibraltar, in the early to mid 1800s. Some of the most important findings of the Neanderthal were in the La Chapelle- aux- Saints caves of southern France. The ideas that carry come from these rolling hills have both hurt and helped the progress for valid information in Neanderthal studies.In 1908, Jean and Amde Bouyssonies findings led many scientists to give over that Neanderthals lived strictly in caves. This is now proven to be false. These rumors however, created widespread generalization that make Neanderthals appear immensely inferior to neo humans. adept such generalization held s path and brought abo ut artistic depictions of the Neanderthals organism idle andawkward creatures. These depictions were created in reflection of the reconstruction of the OId Man of La Chapelle- Aux- Saints by French paleontologist, Marcellin Boule. The bones in the reconstruction of this particular Neanderthal were arthritic and although Boule was aware of the deforming illnesshis reconstruction apparently did not take it into account sufficiently (Sommer 2006213). It wasnt until the mid- 1900s that paleoanthropologists discovered that the Neanderthal walked upright and wasnt slouched over at all.Discussions on the Neanderthal Hyoid BoneDespite all of the progress that has been made in pass judgment out scantily who Homo neanderthalensis was, anthropologists calm down have a long way to go. There are many sub-topics about the enigmatic skeletal remains of the Neanderthal that are stirring up change debates in the world of anthropology, and are still left to skepticism. One of the most controvers ial is whether it was able to mouth with flexible tongue movements that were able to create sophisticated variances in sound that moreover allowed it to live with cordial interactions that rivaled the ones we use today. The hyoid bone and larynx position of the Neanderthal compared to Homo sapiens is the most explored expression of this debate of language.In these arguments, the morphology of the organs and bones in the neck are often measure more of a concern than their functionality. The hyoid is a U shaped bone, responsible for harnessing the movements of the tongue. It is located just above the larynx, which is in like manner known as the voice box. The larynx and hyoid bone are positioned in a way that work together to form the words heard among modern day humans. In the early 1970s, scientists E.S. Crelin and Philip Lieberman reassembled the larynx of the Neanderthal and came up with a strong theory that is still agreed with today.They engraft that the Neanderthal larynx is positioned high, close to the base of the skull, and the tongue lies almost entirely within the oral fossa (Lieberman 1975494). Lieberman is an expert in the evolution of language and has spent a greater part of his career discussing the study differences between Neanderthal and modern human language. He has written volumes that greatly detail the morphology of the Neanderthals mandible and laryngeal bone social structure and has for the most part concluded that Neanderthal language was nowhere near that of modern day humans. Shortly afterLieberman and Crelins reconstructed Neanderthal skull, there was not yet an actual Neanderthal hyoid bone found and other scientists and thinkers in the 1970s disagreed with the way the Neanderthal skull was reconstructed. They based this off of the fact that Crelin was using only five specimens of Neanderthals from the La Chapelle Aux Saints site and also that the culminated skull was reconstructed incorrectly.Many paleontologists believed t hat the way it was put together would have made it impossible for it to swallow food. One cannot help wondering why the vocal tract remodeling concentrates so heavily on La Chapelle when La Ferrassie I is in a much better state of physical preservation (Carlisle and Siegel 1978 370).Despite the valid statements made by Carlisle and Siegel that account the pristine condition of the skull that was put together at the La Ferrassie I site it still did not give any more evidence that pointed to advanced vocal communication among the Neanderthals. roughly the late 1980s the first Neanderthal hyoid bone was found in the Kebara Caves of Mount Carmel, Israel. It was discovered in the middle Paleolithic layers of soil that date back to sixty thousand years ago.Upon probe of the bone, it was discovered that it was nearly identical to those of modern humans. It is important to point out that many of noted paleontologist, Philip Liebermans studies were based on comparing the hyoid bones of Chi mpanzees to Neanderthals. Lieberman and his colleagues reached a consensus that Neanderthals spoke more like Chimpanzees than modern humans. Chimpanzees have been reportedly able to communicate with very subtle changes in tonality, which indicates there is a uncivil language there. That being said, the shape of the hyoid bone of the chimpanzee is worlds apart from the Homo sapien.Whereas, previously mentioned the hyoid was nearly identical to the Homo sapiens. The chimpanzees hyoid bone is much smaller and narrower in comparison to its larynx which is partly what makes its language usage, extremely limited. Not only that, but its brain is much smaller than not only the modern human, but also the Neanderthal. Liebermans vast knowledge of Linguistics has made him an important figure in Archaeology, but his morphological ideals that are commonplace have left out some of the more obvious similarities between Neanderthals and Humans.Neanderthal DNAThe functions of the DNA structure of the Neanderthal are often times abandoned entirely in the arguments defending their lack of language. Proteins extracted from diggings surrounding Neanderthal sites have been analyzed in labs and their DNA structures have given researchers positive backing that the Neanderthal was very similar in its genetic makeup. According to Dr. Julien Riel- Salvatore from the University of Colorado at Denver, Genetically, they Neanderthals share with modern humans a distinctive mutation of the FOXP2 gene, which seems to be intimately associated with speech (Julien Riel-Salvatore, personal communication 2011). This akin mutation is not exhibited in the Chimpanzee.Neanderthals and Human BreedingThere are other debates that coincide with Neanderthals being able to speak, for instance a study that shows Neanderthals may have been able to breed with humans. This is a conundrum in that it would rule out the term Neanderthal entirely, because in order to breed, an animal must be of the same specie s. If this is true not only would it point out that Homo neanderthalensis could speak as articulately as the Homo sapien, but the Homo neanderthalensis was a Homo Sapien. The differences would be more in the barge of behavior, nomadic skills, and tool technology that made the Homo Sapien with a chin able to out-survive the other. Playful notions aside, this is still a very debatable sub-topic of Neanderthal language and many more discoveries will have to be made to prove its total validity.Misleading TheoriesOther noted archaeologists believe that the large nose of the Neanderthal made it incapable of speech, insisting Contrasts in facial morphology probably led to nasal-like vocalizationsand foradvanced hmmmmm sounds (Mithen 2006 226). The picture description that Mithen uses to back up this opinion does not prove anything about how the nose may have certainly caused vocal limitations. Its nose was larger in size, but so were other parts of the Neanderthal, and they were no imped ance to how it got around.ConclusionCorrosion of bones and more importantly muscle tissue make many aspects of anthropology a challenging field. It is not always clear how the muscletissue that once surrounded the skeletons of our quaint relatives operated in relation to nerves, connective tissue, and bones. The Neanderthal is a confusing hominid because of its somewhat smaller cranial capacity, and extremely large skeletal frame. The shapes of its bones are like larger replicas of ours, aside from the skull which is unique in its brow ridge and lack of chin. The conclusions of inter-breeding seem a bit far-fetched. It may have been able to speak as well as modern humans, but perhaps in comparison to the Darwin Finches, its slight variances in structure may have selected it to extinction.AcknowledgementsI would like to thank Dr. Riel- Salvatore for his feedback on the Neanderthal. I am not a professional analyst in anthropology, and am grateful that he was able to provide me with s ome of his personal inquiries on the controversial debates centered on Neanderthal language.Works CitedBoellstorf, Tom (Editor)1978 Additional Comments on Problems in the Interpretation of Neanderthal Speech Capabilities Vol 80 American Anthropology Association, Virginia. Lynch, Michael (Editor)2006 Mirror Mirror on the wall Neanderthal as Image and Distortion in Early 20th- Century French Science and wedge Vol. 36. SAGE Publications, California. Mithen, Steven2006 The Singing Neanderthal. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. Riel- Salvatore, Julien (Interview)2011 Original notes from email.Ruff, Christopher (Editor)1996 Structural Harmony and Neanderthal Speech A Reply to Le May Vol. 45 Wiley-Liss, New Jersey.