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Monday, Oct 22, 2007
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Scientists say Neanderthals did speak

London: They may be primitive brutes but the Neanderthals, who inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia, probably have had the gift of the gab.

DNA revelations

Scientists in Europe have investigated DNA from Neanderthal bones, collected from a cave in northern Spain, and discovered that the humanity’s closest extinct relatives had a “language gene” found in modern humans, The Daily Telegraph reported here on Sunday.

Language gene

“The presence of the language gene would change the way people view Neanderthals. It is not a compliment to be called a Neanderthal, but we are finding that the Neanderthal DNA looks much more like contemporary humans than chimps.

“The human variations of this gene involved in the use of language are not found in apes and for a long time, there has been speculation Neanderthals would have a different gene and so a different linguistic ability.

Lots of views

“By looking at their DNA, we have found that from the point of view of this gene, there is no reason they would not have spoken like we do. It is a very contentious area with a lot of different views,” lead researcher Professor Svante Paabo was quoted as saying.

Previous work

In fact, the findings of Professor Paabo and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, support previous work that attempted to model the Neanderthals throat and larynx from their remains.

While some scientists had earlier insisted they would have spoken, others had dismissed the idea. — PTI

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