World History
They have been dead for over 30,000 years. However, an anthropologist has made a stab at what their voices may have sounded like by reconstructing their vocal tracts with a synthesizer. Robert McCarthy of Florida Atlantic University and his work is detailed in a short CNN article titled Neanderthal man speaks after 30,000 years.
To hear the reconstructed voice, click here. It sounds like a frog croaking. "They would have spoken a bit differently," McCarthy said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Ohio this month. "They wouldn't have been able to produce these quantal vowels that form the basis of spoken language."
McCarthy plans on trying to simulate a whole sentence soon. I can not fathom how he could do this other than making a bunch of sounds which probably would have been meaningless to the Neanderthals. It kind of is like marine biologists who pipe whale sounds under water. I am sure it amuses the whales.
However, it does not matter how close McCarthy gets. At least he is showing what Neanderthal speech may have sounded like. That is interesting and I wish him success.
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World History
The Neanderthals Speak
They have been dead for over 30,000 years. However, an anthropologist has made a stab at what their voices may have sounded like by reconstructing their vocal tracts with a synthesizer. Robert McCarthy of Florida Atlantic University and his work is detailed in a short CNN article titled Neanderthal man speaks after 30,000 years.To hear the reconstructed voice, click here. It sounds like a frog croaking. "They would have spoken a bit differently," McCarthy said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Ohio this month. "They wouldn't have been able to produce these quantal vowels that form the basis of spoken language."
McCarthy plans on trying to simulate a whole sentence soon. I can not fathom how he could do this other than making a bunch of sounds which probably would have been meaningless to the Neanderthals. It kind of is like marine biologists who pipe whale sounds under water. I am sure it amuses the whales.
However, it does not matter how close McCarthy gets. At least he is showing what Neanderthal speech may have sounded like. That is interesting and I wish him success.
- 3,000 Year Old Hebrew Text
An archaeologist is claiming to have found Hebrew text from over three thousand years ago. It dates from the time of King David and was found on a shard of pottery. An article from CNN (titled Archeologist finds 3,000-year old Hebrew text) has the details....
- Naming Stars
I spent the weekend with my family visiting Frankenmuth, Michigan. It is a town right in the middle of Michigan that is themed to look like 19th century Bavaria. That may sound odd but the town is a lot of fun. While visiting a toy store there, my oldest...
- Harpoon May Prove Whale Was At Least 115 Years Old
Alaskans butchering a whale carcass recently found a surprise. An arrowhead was found in the blubber of a Long Bowhead whale caught by the Inuit hunters. It has also given researchers a greater understanding of the species. The weapon, found in the neck...
- Last Stand Of The Neanderthals?
Neanderthals survived longer than thought. This article is from today's issue of USA Today. Research suggests Neanderthals survived for thousands of years longer than thought, with small bands finding refuge in a massive cave in Spain. They used the...
- Neanderthal Tools: New Evidence
Archaeologists recently discovered evidence that they believe shows that Neanderthals were making specialized bone tools before Homo Sapiens Sapiens arrived in Europe. They made the discoveries in France. They have come up with several possible...