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The language capability of Neanderthal man
Author(s) -
Le May Marjorie
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330420103
Subject(s) - neanderthal , history , skull , linguistics , biology , philosophy , archaeology , anatomy
Considerable publicity has been given a recent article by Lieberman and Crelin ('71) which argues that Neanderthal man lacked the physical features necessary for speech. This present paper presents statistics on some modern men with normal speech who show physical features in common with Neanderthal man. The brain of Neanderthal man was as large as, or larger than, that of modern man. The brain reflected by the endocranial cast of the La Chapelle‐aux‐Saints skull resembles that of modern man in an area important for speech and thereby suggests Neanderthal man had the neural development necessary for language.