Environmental Graffiti

Thanks to some very complex research and a computer synthesizer, scientists have obtained a rough estimation of what a Neanderthal voice must have sounded like.

OOG! Image from Flickr

That’s a very basic building block, and perhaps the only one we’ll ever obtain, towards figuring out the language of our prehistoric ancestors. Obviously, if you subscribe to 10,000 B.C., they spoke English–but really, what did the caveman say?

Well, really, it’s possible he didn’t say it at all– he sang it.

Assuming that neanderthals had the physical capacity for speech, as most research since 1983 seems to support, there’s some evidence that to our humanoid counterparts early language and early music were the same thing. Neanderthals, then, may have communicated by singing, as much as speaking, using voices that are described as “womanly” and “melodic” to make their wishes known, a relative to the “songs” of chimpanzees.

Obviously, this is all just speculation, as there’s no way to obtain any record of the communication methods of such a long-gone species.

Environmental Graffiti is up for four bloggers’ choice awards. You can vote for us for best entertainment blog, best blog of all time, best geek blog and best animal blogger.

If you want to find out all the latest news on the environment, why not subscribe to our RSS feed? We’ll even throw in a free album.