Functional tongues and neanderthal vocal tract reconstruction: A reply to Dr. Houghton (1993)

Neandertal supralaryngeal vocal tract: A reply to Dr. Lieberman (1994)

“…In the 1993 paper I suggested that it occupied 70-75% of the distance between the posterior aspect of the mandibular symphsis and the vertebral column. Lieberman (1994) claims an occupancy of about 90%, and in support of this presents his Figure 2. This is a surprising choice considering the wealth of material available to him.…”

“…The Neanderthal "monster" again has its larynx positioned below the cervical vertebrae-an impossible solution. Thus Houghton (1993) demonstrates that the La Chapelle-aux-Saints fossil could not have had a modern human SVT, even with an abnormally small tongue (Lieberman, 1994).…”

“…I start with reference to Lieberman's adaptation (Lieberman, 1994, Figure 1) of Figure 2 in Houghton (1993). My figure was intended to indicate the supralaryngeal vocal tract terminating where the outline of the respiratory tract ended.…”

“…The diagrammatic point indication of the hyoid bone in Houghton (1993) Figure 2 should be taken not as representing the anterosuperior margin of the bone, but a posterior point about half-way down the body, where the fibres of the tongue sweep forward to it. That is, even without the considerable correction needed for the scaling, the hyoid in Lieberman's (1994) Figure 1 is set too low.…”

Neanderthal genomics and the evolution of modern humans: Figure 1.

“…However, hypotheses that Neanderthals were independently capable of complex symbolic behavior, based on analyses of artifacts speculated to have been fashioned by Neanderthals, are disputed (Gravina et al 2005;Zilhão et al 2006;Mellars et al 2007). We also do not know if Neanderthals had language, although arguments for and against have been made based on the significance of anatomical features shared between humans and Neanderthals that may or may not have enabled Neanderthals to speak (Houghton 1993;Lieberman 1994;Martinez et al 2008). The fundamental problem in all of these studies is the lack of data: Modern humans came to dominate the planet, while Neanderthals died out ;28,000 yr ago (Finlayson et al 2006).…”