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Li P, Ross CF, Luo ZX, Gidmark NJ. Head posture impacts mammalian hyoid position and suprahyoid muscle length: implication for swallowing biomechanics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220552. [PMID: 37839446 PMCID: PMC10577029 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Instantaneous head posture (IHP) can extensively alter resting hyoid position in humans, yet postural effects on resting hyoid position remain poorly documented among mammals in general. Clarifying this relationship is essential for evaluating interspecific variation in hyoid posture across evolution, and understanding its implications for hyolingual soft tissue function and swallowing motor control. Using Didelphis virginiana as a model, we conducted static manipulation experiments to show that head flexion shifts hyoid position rostrally relative to the cranium across different gapes. IHP-induced shifts in hyoid position along the anteroposterior axis are comparable to in vivo hyoid protraction distance during swallowing. IHP also has opposite effects on passive genio- and stylohyoid muscle lengths. High-speed biplanar videoradiography suggests Didelphis consistently swallows at neutral to flexed posture, with stereotyped hyoid kinematics across different head postures. IHP change can affect suprahyoid muscle force production by shifting their positions on the length-tension curve, and redirecting lines of action and the resultant force from supra- and infrahyoid muscles. We hypothesize that demands on muscle performance may constrain the range of swallowing head postures in mammals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peishu Li
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
| | - Callum F. Ross
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
| | - Zhe-Xi Luo
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
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Sato K, Nishimura T, Sato K, Sato F, Chitose SI, Umeno H. Comparative Histoanatomy of the Epiglottis and Pre-epiglottic Space of the Chimpanzee Larynx. J Voice 2023:S0892-1997(23)00236-9. [PMID: 37743109 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.07.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Understanding of the evolution of the larynx clarifies the physiology and functional histoanatomy of the present-day human organ. Comparative histoanatomy of the epiglottis and pre-epiglottic space of the chimpanzee larynx (a hominid, phyletic closest relative of humans) was investigated. METHODS Two normal adult chimpanzee larynges obtained from natural deaths were investigated. The whole organ serial section technique was employed. RESULTS The histoanatomical structures of the chimpanzees' epiglottis and pre-epiglottic space were considerably similar to those of human adults. The chimpanzees' epiglottic cartilage was relatively thin and composed of elastic cartilage. These histologic findings of epiglottis indicate that the chimpanzee's epiglottis is flexible and plays the role of retroflection. The chimpanzees' larynges had a pre-epiglottic space composed of adipose tissue and loose connective tissue. Epiglottic cartilage was connected to the thyroid cartilage anteroinferiorly with an intervening thyroepiglottic ligament and to the hyoid bone anteriorly with an intervening hyoepiglottic ligament. These histoanatomical structures of the epiglottis and pre-epiglottic space reflect the fact that chimpanzees have a descended larynx and acquire the pharyngeal space of the vocal tract. CONCLUSION The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that, in the process of evolution, the histoanatomical structures of the epiglottis and pre-epiglottic space change and allow the larynx to descend and lengthen the pharyngeal space of the vocal tract which facilitates speech production in humans. Moreover, the distribution of the human pre-epiglottic space likely allows the epiglottis to more effectively play the role of retroflection during swallowing in order to prevent aspiration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiminori Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
| | - Takeshi Nishimura
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Kiminobu Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
| | - Shun-Ichi Chitose
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
| | - Hirohito Umeno
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
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Sato K, Nishimura T, Sato K, Sato F, Chitose SI, Umeno H. Comparative Histoanatomy of the Epiglottis and Preepiglottic Space of the Lemur Larynx. J Voice 2022:S0892-1997(22)00277-6. [PMID: 36195510 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES An adequate understanding of the evolution of the larynx presumably clarify the physiology and functional histoanatomy of the present-day human organ. This study investigated the comparative histoanatomy of the epiglottis and preepiglottic space of the lemur larynx (a non-human primate without vocal tract). METHODS Two normal adult ring-tailed lemur larynges obtained from natural death were investigated. The whole organ serial section technique was employed. RESULTS The histologic structures of the lemur epiglottis and preepiglottic space differed considerably from that of human adults. The lemur epiglottis was proportionally thick and vertical. It was connected to the thyroid cartilage anteroinferiorly without an intervening thyroepiglottic ligament and to the hyoid bone anteriorly with intervening large bundles of collagen fibers, indicating that the lemur epiglottis does not play the role of retroflection. The lemur larynges did not have a preepiglottic space. These findings also reflect the fact that lemurs do not have a descended larynx and do not acquire the pharyngeal space of the vocal tract. The lemur epiglottis was composed of fibrocartilage, adipose tissue and a small amount of elastic cartilage covered with mucosa (lamina propria and pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium). The histologic findings also indicate that the lemur epiglottis is not flexible and does not play the role of retroflection. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that, in the process of evolution, the histologic structures of epiglottis and preepiglottic space likely change to make the larynx descend and lengthen the pharyngeal space of the vocal tract for speech production in humans. Moreover, the distribution of the human preepiglottic space likely allows the epiglottis to more effectively play the role of retroflection during swallowing in order to prevent aspiration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiminori Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.
| | - Takeshi Nishimura
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Kiminobu Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Shun-Ichi Chitose
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hirohito Umeno
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
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Taylor D, Dezecache G, Davila-Ross M. Filling in the gaps: Acoustic gradation increases in the vocal ontogeny of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23249. [PMID: 33792937 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Human vocal ontogeny is considered to be a process whereby a large repertoire of discrete sounds seemingly emerges from a smaller number of acoustically graded vocalizations. While adult chimpanzee vocal behavior is highly graded, its developmental trajectory is poorly understood. In the present study, we therefore examined the size and structure of the chimpanzee vocal repertoire at different stages of ontogeny. Audio recordings were collected on infant (N = 13) and juvenile (N = 13) semi-wild chimpanzees at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, Zambia, using focal and ad libitum sampling. All observed call types were acoustically measured. These were predominantly grunts, whimpers, laughs, screams, hoos, and barks and squeaks. A range of spectral and temporal acoustic parameters were extracted, and fuzzy c-means clustering was used to quantify the size and structure of the repertoire. The infant and juvenile vocal repertoires were both best described with the same number of clusters. However, compared to infants, juvenile call clusters were less distinct from one another and could be extracted only when a low level of overlap between call clusters was permitted. Moreover, the acoustic overlap between call clusters was significantly higher for juveniles. Overall, this pattern shows greater acoustic overlap in juvenile vocalizations compared to infants, suggesting a trend toward increased acoustic gradation in chimpanzee vocal ontogeny. This may imply in contrast to humans, chimpanzees become increasingly proficient in using graded signals effectively rather than developing a larger repertoire of more discrete sounds in ontogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derry Taylor
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
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Gokhman D, Nissim-Rafinia M, Agranat-Tamir L, Housman G, García-Pérez R, Lizano E, Cheronet O, Mallick S, Nieves-Colón MA, Li H, Alpaslan-Roodenberg S, Novak M, Gu H, Osinski JM, Ferrando-Bernal M, Gelabert P, Lipende I, Mjungu D, Kondova I, Bontrop R, Kullmer O, Weber G, Shahar T, Dvir-Ginzberg M, Faerman M, Quillen EE, Meissner A, Lahav Y, Kandel L, Liebergall M, Prada ME, Vidal JM, Gronostajski RM, Stone AC, Yakir B, Lalueza-Fox C, Pinhasi R, Reich D, Marques-Bonet T, Meshorer E, Carmel L. Differential DNA methylation of vocal and facial anatomy genes in modern humans. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1189. [PMID: 32132541 PMCID: PMC7055320 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15020-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in potential regulatory elements are thought to be key drivers of phenotypic divergence. However, identifying changes to regulatory elements that underlie human-specific traits has proven very challenging. Here, we use 63 reconstructed and experimentally measured DNA methylation maps of ancient and present-day humans, as well as of six chimpanzees, to detect differentially methylated regions that likely emerged in modern humans after the split from Neanderthals and Denisovans. We show that genes associated with face and vocal tract anatomy went through particularly extensive methylation changes. Specifically, we identify widespread hypermethylation in a network of face- and voice-associated genes (SOX9, ACAN, COL2A1, NFIX and XYLT1). We propose that these repression patterns appeared after the split from Neanderthals and Denisovans, and that they might have played a key role in shaping the modern human face and vocal tract.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gokhman
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Malka Nissim-Rafinia
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lily Agranat-Tamir
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Statistics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Genevieve Housman
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | | | - Esther Lizano
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Olivia Cheronet
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Swapan Mallick
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Maria A Nieves-Colón
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Heng Li
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | | | - Mario Novak
- Institute for Anthropological Research, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
- Earth Institute and School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | | | - Jason M Osinski
- Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | | | - Pere Gelabert
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iddi Lipende
- Gombe Stream Research Center, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Deus Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Center, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Ivanela Kondova
- Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk, Netherlands
| | - Ronald Bontrop
- Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk, Netherlands
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Department of Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research, Senckenberg Center of Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Gerhard Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tal Shahar
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Mona Dvir-Ginzberg
- Laboratory of Cartilage Biology, Institute of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marina Faerman
- Laboratory of Bioanthropology and Ancient DNA, Institute of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ellen E Quillen
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, 85287, USA
| | - Alexander Meissner
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Yonatan Lahav
- Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery Department, Laryngeal Surgery Unit, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel
- The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Leonid Kandel
- Orthopaedic Department, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Meir Liebergall
- Orthopaedic Department, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - María E Prada
- I.E.S.O. 'Los Salados'. Junta de Castilla y León, León, Spain
| | - Julio M Vidal
- Junta de Castilla y León, Servicio de Cultura de León, León, Spain
| | - Richard M Gronostajski
- Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
- Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Program, New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Anne C Stone
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Benjamin Yakir
- Department of Statistics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Carles Lalueza-Fox
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Reich
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), 08010, Barcelona, Spain
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eran Meshorer
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Liran Carmel
- Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel.
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Lameira AR, Call J. Understanding Language Evolution: Beyond Pan-Centrism. Bioessays 2020; 42:e1900102. [PMID: 31994246 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201900102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Language does not fossilize but this does not mean that the language's evolutionary timeline is lost forever. Great apes provide a window back in time on our last prelinguistic ancestor's communication and cognition. Phylogeny and cladistics implicitly conjure Pan (chimpanzees, bonobos) as a superior (often the only) model for language evolution compared with earlier diverging lineages, Gorilla and Pongo (orangutans). Here, in reviewing the literature, it is shown that Pan do not surpass other great apes along genetic, cognitive, ecologic, or vocal traits that are putatively paramount for language onset and evolution. Instead, revived herein is the idea that only by abandoning single-species models and learning about the variation among great apes, there might be a chance to retrieve lost fragments of the evolutionary timeline of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriano R Lameira
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, South Street, KY16 9JP, St Andrews, UK.,Deparment of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
| | - Josep Call
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, South Street, KY16 9JP, St Andrews, UK
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Parncutt R. Mother Schema, Obstetric Dilemma, and the Origin of Behavioral Modernity. Behav Sci (Basel) 2019; 9:E142. [PMID: 31817739 PMCID: PMC6960940 DOI: 10.3390/bs9120142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
What triggered the emergence of uniquely human behaviors (language, religion, music) some 100,000 years ago? A non-circular, speculative theory based on the mother-infant relationship is presented. Infant "cuteness" evokes the infant schema and motivates nurturing; the analogous mother schema (MS) is a multimodal representation of the carer from the fetal/infant perspective, motivating fearless trust. Prenatal MS organizes auditory, proprioceptive, and biochemical stimuli (voice, heartbeat, footsteps, digestion, body movements, biochemicals) that depend on maternal physical/emotional state. In human evolution, bipedalism and encephalization led to earlier births and more fragile infants. Cognitively more advanced infants survived by better communicating with and motivating (manipulating) mothers and carers. The ability to link arbitrary sound patterns to complex meanings improved (proto-language). Later in life, MS and associated emotions were triggered in ritual settings by repetitive sounds and movements (early song, chant, rhythm, dance), subdued light, dull auditory timbre, psychoactive substances, unusual tastes/smells and postures, and/or a feeling of enclosure. Operant conditioning can explain why such actions were repeated. Reflective consciousness emerged as infant-mother dyads playfully explored intentionality (theory of mind, agent detection) and carers predicted and prevented fatal infant accidents (mental time travel). The theory is consistent with cross-cultural commonalities in altered states (out-of-body, possessing, floating, fusing), spiritual beings (large, moving, powerful, emotional, wise, loving), and reports of strong musical experiences and divine encounters. Evidence is circumstantial and cumulative; falsification is problematic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Parncutt
- Centre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
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Bermejo-Fenoll A, Panchón-Ruíz A, Sánchez del Campo F. Homo sapiens, Chimpanzees and the Enigma of Language. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:558. [PMID: 31213975 PMCID: PMC6555268 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The present study explores the hypothesis that the anatomical bone structures of the oral cavity have probably evolved under the influence of language function. The possible changes have been evaluated by comparing two close species essentially differentiated from each other by spoken language. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty dry skulls and 20 mandibles of modern Caucasians were compared with 12 dry skulls and 12 mandibles of chimpanzees, with the analysis of 37 variables and the definition of new anatomical parameters. RESULTS A number of highly significant differences were found between humans and chimpanzees. The human temporomandibular joint is comparatively less flat and has a more limited excursive movement range, with structural elements that seem to be lighter. A significant difference is noted in mandibular alveolar vergency and in the internal slope of the mandibular symphysis where the oral cavity's morphology is modified, thereby increasing the free space for tongue movements in humans. The chin, which is unique to the human species, is quantified through the external slope of the mandibular symphysis with a lesser angle in humans. DISCUSSION It is obvious that there are differences between humans and chimpanzees in the bone morphology of the oral cavity structures. This has been confirmed with the analysis of new variables. Together with other factors (bipedalism, habits, and genetics) speech in humans must have played an important role in the aforementioned differences between humans and chimpanzees. The number of mandibular movements involved in speech is far greater than those used in chewing, which must have conditioned the evolution of the oral structures implicated in the development of language. On average, humans weigh 70 kg and chimpanzees 44 kg. However, the majority of the variables studied in skulls and mandibles are greater in chimpanzees, which suggests that the evolution of the oral zone in humans has suffered a reduction in size with changes in shape. The refinement of the supralaryngeal vocal tract in the human species must have co-evolved with speech fairly recently. The human skull has temporomandibular joints that are comparatively less flat with a more limited movement. There is a greater lingual space and there is also a chin that suggests a muscular stimulant. This leads to the conclusion that, at least in part, speech is behind all these changes, although it is difficult to establish a cause-effect relationship.
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Fagot J, Boë LJ, Berthomier F, Claidière N, Malassis R, Meguerditchian A, Rey A, Montant M. The baboon: A model for the study of language evolution. J Hum Evol 2018; 126:39-50. [PMID: 30583843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 10/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Comparative research on the origins of human language often focuses on a limited number of language-related cognitive functions or anatomical structures that are compared across species. The underlying assumption of this approach is that a single or a limited number of factors may crucially explain how language appeared in the human lineage. Another potentially fruitful approach is to consider human language as the result of a (unique) assemblage of multiple cognitive and anatomical components, some of which are present in other species. This paper is a first step in that direction. It focuses on the baboon, a non-human primate that has been studied extensively for years, including several brain, anatomical, cognitive and cultural dimensions that are involved in human language. This paper presents recent data collected on baboons regarding (1) a selection of domain-general cognitive functions that are core functions for language, (2) vocal production, (3) gestural production and cerebral lateralization, and (4) cumulative culture. In all these domains, it shows that the baboons share with humans many cognitive or brain mechanisms which are central for language. Because of the multidimensionality of the knowledge accumulated on the baboon, that species is an excellent nonhuman primate model for the study of the evolutionary origins of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Fagot
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
| | | | | | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Raphaelle Malassis
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Arnaud Rey
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Marie Montant
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
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Boucher VJ, Gilbert AC, Rossier-Bisaillon A. The Structural Effects of Modality on the Rise of Symbolic Language: A Rebuttal of Evolutionary Accounts and a Laboratory Demonstration. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2300. [PMID: 30546330 PMCID: PMC6279877 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Why does symbolic communication in humans develop primarily in an oral medium, and how do theories of language origin explain this? Non-human primates, despite their ability to learn and use symbolic signs, do not develop symbols as in oral language. This partly owes to the lack of a direct cortico-motoneuron control of vocalizations in these species compared to humans. Yet such modality-related factors that can impinge on the rise of symbolic language are interpreted differently in two types of evolutionary storylines. (1) Some theories posit that symbolic language originated in a gestural modality, as in "sign languages." However, this overlooks work on emerging sign and spoken languages showing that gestures and speech shape signs differently. (2) In modality-dependent theories, some emphasize the role of iconic sounds, though these lack the efficiency of arbitrary symbols. Other theorists suggest that ontogenesis serves to identify human-specific mechanisms underlying an evolutionary shift from pitch varying to orally modulated vocalizations (babble). This shift creates numerous oral features that can support efficient symbolic associations. We illustrate this principle using a sound-picture association task with 40 learners who hear words in an unfamiliar language (Mandarin) with and without a filtering of oral features. Symbolic associations arise more rapidly and accurately for sounds containing oral features compared to sounds bearing only pitch features, an effect also reported in experiments with infants. The results imply that, beyond a competence to learn and use symbols, the rise of symbolic language rests on the types of signs that a modality of expression affords.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor J. Boucher
- Laboratoire de Sciences Phonétiques, Département de Linguistique, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Annie C. Gilbert
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Antonin Rossier-Bisaillon
- Laboratoire de Sciences Phonétiques, Département de Linguistique, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Clark G, Henneberg M. Ardipithecus ramidus and the evolution of language and singing: An early origin for hominin vocal capability. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2017; 68:101-121. [PMID: 28363458 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2017.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we analyse the possibility that the early hominin Ardipithecus ramidus had vocal capabilities far exceeding those of any extant non-human primate. We argue that erect posture combined with changes in craniofacial morphology, such as reduced facial and jaw length, not only provide evidence for increased levels of pro-sociality, but also increased vocal ability. Reduced length of the face and jaw, combined with a flexed cranial base, suggests the larynx in this species was situated deeper in the neck than in chimpanzees, a trait which may have facilitated increased vocal ability. We also provide evidence that Ar. ramidus, by virtue of its erect posture, possessed a degree of cervical lordosis significantly greater than chimpanzees. This is indicative of increased mobility of the larynx within the neck and hence increased capacity to modulate vocalisations. In the paleoanthropological literature, these changes in early hominin skull morphology have to date been analysed in terms of a shift in mating and social behaviour, with little consideration given to vocally mediated sociality. Similarly, in the literature on language evolution there is a distinct lacuna regarding links between craniofacial correlates of social and mating systems and vocal ability. These are surprising oversights given that pro-sociality and vocal capability require identical alterations to the common ancestral skull and skeletal configuration. We therefore propose a model which integrates data on whole organism morphogenesis with evidence for a potential early emergence of hominin socio-vocal adaptations. Consequently, we suggest vocal capability may have evolved much earlier than has been traditionally proposed. Instead of emerging in the Homo genus, we suggest the palaeoecological context of late Miocene and early Pliocene forests and woodlands facilitated the evolution of hominin socio-vocal capability. We also propose that paedomorphic morphogenesis of the skull via the process of self-domestication enabled increased levels of pro-social behaviour, as well as increased capacity for socially synchronous vocalisation to evolve at the base of the hominin clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary Clark
- Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.
| | - Maciej Henneberg
- Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia.
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15
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Evidence of a Vocalic Proto-System in the Baboon (Papio papio) Suggests Pre-Hominin Speech Precursors. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0169321. [PMID: 28076426 PMCID: PMC5226677 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Language is a distinguishing characteristic of our species, and the course of its evolution is one of the hardest problems in science. It has long been generally considered that human speech requires a low larynx, and that the high larynx of nonhuman primates should preclude their producing the vowel systems universally found in human language. Examining the vocalizations through acoustic analyses, tongue anatomy, and modeling of acoustic potential, we found that baboons (Papio papio) produce sounds sharing the F1/F2 formant structure of the human [ɨ æ ɑ ɔ u] vowels, and that similarly with humans those vocalic qualities are organized as a system on two acoustic-anatomic axes. This confirms that hominoids can produce contrasting vowel qualities despite a high larynx. It suggests that spoken languages evolved from ancient articulatory skills already present in our last common ancestor with Cercopithecoidea, about 25 MYA.
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Abstract
AbstractMore than 35 years ago, Meltzoff and Moore (1977) published their famous article, “Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates.” Their central conclusion, that neonates can imitate, was and continues to be controversial. Here, we focus on an often-neglected aspect of this debate, namely, neonatal spontaneous behaviors themselves. We present a case study of a paradigmatic orofacial “gesture,” namely tongue protrusion and retraction (TP/R). Against the background of new research on mammalian aerodigestive development, we ask: How does the human aerodigestive system develop, and what role does TP/R play in the neonate's emerging system of aerodigestion? We show that mammalian aerodigestion develops in two phases: (1) from the onset of isolated orofacial movementsin uteroto the postnatal mastery of suckling at 4 months after birth; and (2) thereafter, from preparation to the mastery of mastication and deglutition of solid foods. Like other orofacial stereotypies, TP/R emerges in the first phase and vanishes prior to the second. Based upon recent advances in activity-driven early neural development, we suggest a sequence of three developmental events in which TP/R might participate: the acquisition of tongue control, the integration of the central pattern generator (CPG) for TP/R with other aerodigestive CPGs, and the formation of connections within the cortical maps of S1 and M1. If correct, orofacial stereotypies are crucial to the maturation of aerodigestion in the neonatal period but also unlikely to co-occur with imitative behavior.
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Nishimura T, Mori F, Hanida S, Kumahata K, Ishikawa S, Samarat K, Miyabe-Nishiwaki T, Hayashi M, Tomonaga M, Suzuki J, Matsuzawa T, Matsuzawa T. Impaired Air Conditioning within the Nasal Cavity in Flat-Faced Homo. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1004807. [PMID: 27010321 PMCID: PMC4807068 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We are flat-faced hominins with an external nose that protrudes from the face. This feature was derived in the genus Homo, along with facial flattening and reorientation to form a high nasal cavity. The nasal passage conditions the inhaled air in terms of temperature and humidity to match the conditions required in the lung, and its anatomical variation is believed to be evolutionarily sensitive to the ambient atmospheric conditions of a given habitat. In this study, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with three-dimensional topology models of the nasal passage under the same simulation conditions, to investigate air-conditioning performance in humans, chimpanzees, and macaques. The CFD simulation showed a horizontal straight flow of inhaled air in chimpanzees and macaques, contrasting with the upward and curved flow in humans. The inhaled air is conditioned poorly in humans compared with nonhuman primates. Virtual modifications to the human external nose topology, in which the nasal vestibule and valve are modified to resemble those of chimpanzees, change the airflow to be horizontal, but have little influence on the air-conditioning performance in humans. These findings suggest that morphological variation of the nasal passage topology was only weakly sensitive to the ambient atmosphere conditions; rather, the high nasal cavity in humans was formed simply by evolutionary facial reorganization in the divergence of Homo from the other hominin lineages, impairing the air-conditioning performance. Even though the inhaled air is not adjusted well within the nasal cavity in humans, it can be fully conditioned subsequently in the pharyngeal cavity, which is lengthened in the flat-faced Homo. Thus, the air-conditioning faculty in the nasal passages was probably impaired in early Homo members, although they have survived successfully under the fluctuating climate of the Plio-Pleistocene, and then they moved “Out of Africa” to explore the more severe climates of Eurasia. This is the first investigation of nasal air conditioning in nonhuman hominoids based on computational fluid dynamics with digital topological models of the nasal passage made using medical imaging. Our comparative results of humans, chimpanzees, and macaques show that the inhaled air is conditioned poorly in humans compared with nonhuman primates. We also show that our protruding external nose has little effect on improving air conditioning. The nasal anatomy in Homo was weakly sensitive to the ambient atmosphere conditions in evolution, but was formed passively by facial reorganization in this genus. Even though the inhaled air is not adjusted well within the nasal cavity in humans, it can be fully conditioned subsequently in the pharyngeal cavity, which is lengthened in flat-faced Homo. Thus, despite an impaired air-conditioning conformation in the nasal passages, Homo members must have survived successfully under the fluctuating climate of the Plio-Pleistocene, and then they moved “Out of Africa” in the Early Pleistocene to explore the more severe climates and ecological environments of Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Nishimura
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Futoshi Mori
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Iwate, Japan
| | - Sho Hanida
- Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Nonoichi, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Kumahata
- RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | | | - Kaouthar Samarat
- Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan
| | | | - Misato Hayashi
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Masaki Tomonaga
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Juri Suzuki
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | | | - Teruo Matsuzawa
- Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan
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Efremova KO, Frey R, Volodin IA, Fritsch G, Soldatova NV, Volodina EV. The postnatal ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic vocal apparatus in goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa). J Morphol 2016; 277:826-44. [PMID: 26997608 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Revised: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
This study quantitatively documents the progressive development of sexual dimorphism of the vocal organs along the ontogeny of the goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). The major, male-specific secondary sexual features, of vocal anatomy in goitred gazelle are an enlarged larynx and a marked laryngeal descent. These features appear to have evolved by sexual selection and may serve as a model for similar events in male humans. Sexual dimorphism of larynx size and larynx position in adult goitred gazelles is more pronounced than in humans, whereas the vocal anatomy of neonate goitred gazelles does not differ between sexes. This study examines the vocal anatomy of 19 (11 male, 8 female) goitred gazelle specimens across three age-classes, that is, neonates, subadults and mature adults. The postnatal ontogenetic development of the vocal organs up to their respective end states takes considerably longer in males than in females. Both sexes share the same features of vocal morphology but differences emerge in the course of ontogeny, ultimately resulting in the pronounced sexual dimorphism of the vocal apparatus in adults. The main differences comprise larynx size, vocal fold length, vocal tract length, and mobility of the larynx. The resilience of the thyrohyoid ligament and the pharynx, including the soft palate, and the length changes during contraction and relaxation of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles play a decisive role in the mobility of the larynx in both sexes but to substantially different degrees in adult females and males. Goitred gazelles are born with an undescended larynx and, therefore, larynx descent has to develop in the course of ontogeny. This might result from a trade-off between natural selection and sexual selection requiring a temporal separation of different laryngeal functions at birth and shortly after from those later in life. J. Morphol. 277:826-844, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kseniya O Efremova
- Department of General Biology, Medicobiological Faculty, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (RNRMU), Moscow, Russia
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
| | - Guido Fritsch
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany
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Plotsky K, Rendall D, Chase K, Riede T. Cranio-facial remodeling in domestic dogs is associated with changes in larynx position. J Anat 2016; 228:975-83. [PMID: 26863925 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The hyo-laryngeal complex is a multi-segmented structure integrating the oral and pharyngeal cavities and thus a variety of critical functions related to airway control, feeding, and vocal communication. Currently, we lack a complete understanding of how the hyoid complex, and the functions it mediates, can also be affected by changes in surrounding cranio-facial dimensions. Here, we explore these relationships in a breed of domestic dog, the Portuguese Water Dog, which is characterized by strong cranio-facial variation. We used radiographic images of the upper body and head of 55 adult males and 51 adult females to obtain detailed measures of cranio-facial variation and hyoid anatomy. Principal components analysis revealed multiple orthogonal dimensions of cranio-facial variation, some of which were associated with significant differences in larynx position: the larynx occupied a more descended position in individuals with shorter, broader faces than in those with longer, narrower faces. We then tested the possibility that caudal displacement of the larynx in brachycephalic individuals might reflect a degree of tongue crowding resulting from facial shortening and reduction of oral and pharyngeal spaces. A cadaver sample was used to obtain detailed measurements of constituent bones of the hyoid skeleton and of the tongue body, and their relationships to cranio-facial size and shape and overall body size supported the tongue-crowding hypothesis. Considering the presence of descended larynges in numerous mammalian taxa, our findings establish an important precedent for the possibility that laryngeal descent can be initiated, and even sustained, in part in response to remodeling of the face and cranium for selective pressures unrelated to vocal production. These integrated changes could also have been involved in hominin evolution, where the different laryngeal positions in modern humans compared with nonhuman primates have been traditionally linked to the evolution of speech but which are likely to be multifactorial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Plotsky
- Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Department of Psychology, The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Drew Rendall
- Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Department of Psychology, The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
| | - Kevin Chase
- Department of Biology, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Tobias Riede
- Department of Physiology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA
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Koda H, Tokuda IT, Wakita M, Ito T, Nishimura T. The source-filter theory of whistle-like calls in marmosets: Acoustic analysis and simulation of helium-modulated voices. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 137:3068-3076. [PMID: 26093398 DOI: 10.1121/1.4921607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Whistle-like high-pitched "phee" calls are often used as long-distance vocal advertisements by small-bodied marmosets and tamarins in the dense forests of South America. While the source-filter theory proposes that vibration of the vocal fold is modified independently from the resonance of the supralaryngeal vocal tract (SVT) in human speech, a source-filter coupling that constrains the vibration frequency to SVT resonance effectively produces loud tonal sounds in some musical instruments. Here, a combined approach of acoustic analyses and simulation with helium-modulated voices was used to show that phee calls are produced principally with the same mechanism as in human speech. The animal keeps the fundamental frequency (f0) close to the first formant (F1) of the SVT, to amplify f0. Although f0 and F1 are primarily independent, the degree of their tuning can be strengthened further by a flexible source-filter interaction, the variable strength of which depends upon the cross-sectional area of the laryngeal cavity. The results highlight the evolutionary antiquity and universality of the source-filter model in primates, but the study can also explore the diversification of vocal physiology, including source-filter interaction and its anatomical basis in non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Koda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
| | - Isao T Tokuda
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
| | - Masumi Wakita
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Ito
- Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan
| | - Takeshi Nishimura
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
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21
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Martins PT, Boeckx C. Attention mechanisms and the mosaic evolution of speech. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1463. [PMID: 25566141 PMCID: PMC4267173 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 11/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There is still no categorical answer as to why humans, and no other species, have speech, or why speech is the way it is. Several purely anatomical arguments have been put forward, but they have been shown to be false, biologically implausible, or of limited scope. This perspective paper supports the idea that evolutionary theories of speech could benefit from a focus on the cognitive mechanisms that make speech possible, for which antecedents in evolutionary history and brain correlates can be found. This type of approach is part of a very recent but rapidly growing trend that has already provided crucial insights on the nature of human speech by focusing on the biological bases of vocal learning. Here we contend that a general mechanism of attention, which manifests itself not only in the visual but also in the auditory modality, might be one of the key ingredients of human speech, in addition to the mechanisms underlying vocal learning, and the pairing of facial gestures with vocalic units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro T. Martins
- Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
- Center of Linguistics of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Biolinguistics Initiative Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Biolinguistics Initiative Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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Dediu D, Levinson SC. On the antiquity of language: the reinterpretation of Neandertal linguistic capacities and its consequences. Front Psychol 2013; 4:397. [PMID: 23847571 PMCID: PMC3701805 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2013] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is usually assumed that modern language is a recent phenomenon, coinciding with the emergence of modern humans themselves. Many assume as well that this is the result of a single, sudden mutation giving rise to the full "modern package." However, we argue here that recognizably modern language is likely an ancient feature of our genus pre-dating at least the common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals about half a million years ago. To this end, we adduce a broad range of evidence from linguistics, genetics, paleontology, and archaeology clearly suggesting that Neandertals shared with us something like modern speech and language. This reassessment of the antiquity of modern language, from the usually quoted 50,000-100,000 years to half a million years, has profound consequences for our understanding of our own evolution in general and especially for the sciences of speech and language. As such, it argues against a saltationist scenario for the evolution of language, and toward a gradual process of culture-gene co-evolution extending to the present day. Another consequence is that the present-day linguistic diversity might better reflect the properties of the design space for language and not just the vagaries of history, and could also contain traces of the languages spoken by other human forms such as the Neandertals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Dediu
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsNijmegen, Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University NijmegenNijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Stephen C. Levinson
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University NijmegenNijmegen, Netherlands
- Language and Cognition Department, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsNijmegen, Netherlands
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Sakai T, Matsui M, Mikami A, Malkova L, Hamada Y, Tomonaga M, Suzuki J, Tanaka M, Miyabe-Nishiwaki T, Makishima H, Nakatsukasa M, Matsuzawa T. Developmental patterns of chimpanzee cerebral tissues provide important clues for understanding the remarkable enlargement of the human brain. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 280:20122398. [PMID: 23256194 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental prolongation is thought to contribute to the remarkable brain enlargement observed in modern humans (Homo sapiens). However, the developmental trajectories of cerebral tissues have not been explored in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), even though they are our closest living relatives. To address this lack of information, the development of cerebral tissues was tracked in growing chimpanzees during infancy and the juvenile stage, using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging and compared with that of humans and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Overall, cerebral development in chimpanzees demonstrated less maturity and a more protracted course during prepuberty, as observed in humans but not in macaques. However, the rapid increase in cerebral total volume and proportional dynamic change in the cerebral tissue in humans during early infancy, when white matter volume increases dramatically, did not occur in chimpanzees. A dynamic reorganization of cerebral tissues of the brain during early infancy, driven mainly by enhancement of neuronal connectivity, is likely to have emerged in the human lineage after the split between humans and chimpanzees and to have promoted the increase in brain volume in humans. Our findings may lead to powerful insights into the ontogenetic mechanism underlying human brain enlargement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Sakai
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan.
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Wyman M, Mooring M, McCowan B, Penedo M, Reby D, Hart L. Acoustic cues to size and quality in the vocalizations of male North American bison, Bison bison. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Koda H, Nishimura T, Tokuda IT, Oyakawa C, Nihonmatsu T, Masataka N. Soprano singing in gibbons. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 149:347-55. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2012] [Accepted: 07/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Developmental changes of nasal and oral calls in the goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, a nonhuman mammal with a sexually dimorphic and descended larynx. Naturwissenschaften 2012; 98:919-31. [PMID: 21976026 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0843-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2011] [Revised: 09/04/2011] [Accepted: 09/06/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
In goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa), sexual dimorphism of larynx size and position is reminiscent of the case in humans, suggesting shared features of vocal ontogenesis in both species. This study investigates the ontogeny of nasal and oral calls in 23 (10 male and 13 female) individually identified goitred gazelles from shortly after birth up to adolescence. The fundamental frequency (f0) and formants were measured as the acoustic correlates of the developing sexual dimorphism. Settings for LPC analysis of formants were based on anatomical dissections of 5 specimens. Along ontogenesis, compared to females, male f0 was consistently lower both in oral and nasal calls and male formants were lower in oral calls, whereas the first two formants of nasal calls did not differ between sexes. In goitred gazelles, significant sex differences in f0 and formants appeared as early as the second week of life, while in humans they emerge only before puberty. This result suggests different pathways of vocal ontogenesis in the goitred gazelles and in humans.
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Barney A, Martelli S, Serrurier A, Steele J. Articulatory capacity of Neanderthals, a very recent and human-like fossil hominin. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:88-102. [PMID: 22106429 PMCID: PMC3223793 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientists seek to use fossil and archaeological evidence to constrain models of the coevolution of human language and tool use. We focus on Neanderthals, for whom indirect evidence from tool use and ancient DNA appears consistent with an adaptation to complex vocal-auditory communication. We summarize existing arguments that the articulatory apparatus for speech had not yet come under intense positive selection pressure in Neanderthals, and we outline some recent evidence and analyses that challenge such arguments. We then provide new anatomical results from our own attempt to reconstruct vocal tract (VT) morphology in Neanderthals, and document our simulations of the acoustic and articulatory potential of this reconstructed Neanderthal VT. Our purpose in this paper is not to polarize debate about whether or not Neanderthals were human-like in all relevant respects, but to contribute to the development of methods that can be used to make further incremental advances in our understanding of the evolution of speech based on fossil and archaeological evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Barney
- Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, University Road Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Sandra Martelli
- AHRC Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- UCL Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Antoine Serrurier
- Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, University Road Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - James Steele
- AHRC Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
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Bards, poets, and cliques: frequency-dependent selection and the evolution of language genes. Bull Math Biol 2010; 73:2201-12. [PMID: 21191662 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-010-9619-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2010] [Accepted: 12/10/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The ability of humans to communicate via language is a complex, adapted phenotype, which undoubtedly has a recently evolved genetic component. However, the evolutionary dynamics of language-associated alleles are poorly understood. To improve our knowledge of such systems, a population-genetics model for language-associated genes is developed. (The model is general and applicable to social interactions other than communication.) When an allele arises that potentially improves the ability of individuals to communicate, it will experience positive frequency-dependent selection because its fitness will depend on how many other individuals communicate the same way. Consequently, new and rare alleles are selected against, posing a problem for the evolutionary origin of language. However, the model shows that if individuals form language-based cliques, then novel language-associated alleles can sweep through a population. Thus, the origin of language ability can be sufficiently explained by Darwinian processes operating on genetic diversity in a finite population of human ancestors.
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Bluestone CD, Swarts JD. Human evolutionary history: consequences for the pathogenesis of otitis media. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2010; 143:739-44. [PMID: 21109071 DOI: 10.1016/j.otohns.2010.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2010] [Revised: 07/23/2010] [Accepted: 08/13/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The pathogenesis of otitis media is multifactorial, but the role of evolution on its development has not been addressed. We posit that the high prevalence of middle-ear disease is most likely restricted to humans, in contrast to other wild species, because the associated hearing loss would have reduced the fitness of affected individuals as a result of predation. We present here the possible consequences of two human adaptations that may have resulted in ubiquitous otitis media: the interaction of bipedalism and increased brain size, and the loss of facial prognathism resulting from speech or cooking. As a consequence of our adaptation for bipedalism, the female pelvic outlet is constricted, which, in the context of a rapidly enlarging brain, results in humans being born 12 months too soon. Significantly, immature eustachian tube structure and function, in conjunction with an immature immune system, helps to explain the high incidence of otitis media in the first year of life. But the persistence of middle-ear disease beyond this stage is not explained by "immaturity." The morphology of the palate changed with the adaptations that produced facial flattening, with concomitant effects on eustachian tube function. These changes resulted in relatively poor human physiologic tubal function in comparison to the nonhuman primate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles D Bluestone
- Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
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Rogers CR, Mooney MP, Smith TD, Weinberg SM, Waller BM, Parr LA, Docherty BA, Bonar CJ, Reinholt LE, Deleyiannis FWB, Siegel MI, Marazita ML, Burrows AM. Comparative microanatomy of the orbicularis oris muscle between chimpanzees and humans: evolutionary divergence of lip function. J Anat 2009; 214:36-44. [PMID: 19166471 PMCID: PMC2631558 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01004.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/19/2008] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The orbicularis oris muscle plays a role in the production of primate facial expressions and vocalizations, nutrient intake, and in some non-human primates it is used as a prehensile, manipulative tool. As the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is the closest living relative of humans, a comparison of the orbicularis oris muscle between these species may increase our understanding of the morphological specializations related to the differing functional demands of their lips and the factors responsible for their divergent evolution. To this end, this study compares the microanatomy of the mid-line upper fibers of the orbicularis oris muscle between chimpanzees and humans. A mid-line portion of the orbicularis oris muscle was harvested from the upper lips of three chimpanzee and five human cadavers. The sampled blocks included the area between the lateral borders of the nasal alar cartilages in both species. Each sample was processed for paraffin histology, sectioned and stained with a variety of protocols. Sections were examined for fiber direction and relative thickness of muscle layers. Ratios of cross-sectional connective tissue area vs. cross-sectional muscle tissue area, muscle fiber diameter and relative dermal thickness were calculated for each species. In both species, a clear pars marginalis layer was recognized, contrary to previous reports that only humans possess this layer. In chimpanzees, the relative fiber diameter and relative amount of muscle tissue (i.e. based on ratio of connective tissue area : muscle tissue area) were significantly (P < 0.05) greater than in humans. In contrast, measurements of relative dermal thickness showed that humans have a greater average dermal thickness of the upper lip than chimpanzees. Taken together, these results suggest that both human and chimpanzee orbicularis oris muscle upper fibers meet the specific functional demands associated with their divergent vocal and facial display repertoires, the development of human speech, and the use of the upper lip as a prehensile tool in chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn R Rogers
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, USA
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Abstract
I posit that humans appear to be the only species that develops otitis media. If animals in the wild had developed middle-ear disease to any significant degree, they would have been selected out during evolution because they would not have survived their predators given the associated hearing loss. Why do humans have otitis media? Evolution has had a significant impact. It is well known that humans are born 12 months too early, which is the result of adaptations to bipedalism and our big brain that, over time, resulted in a relatively small female pelvic outlet compared with nonhuman primates. As a consequence of too early a birth, not only is our immune system immature, but the eustachian tube is too short and floppy in the first year of life. But why is otitis media still common in older individuals? What other adaptation is uniquely human? We developed speech that was associated with descent of the larynx and hyoid bone, which, along with a decrease in prognathism (i.e., facial flattening), resulted in a change in palatal morphology as compared with other primates. Comparative anatomic and physiologic studies have demonstrated significant differences between humans and monkeys, especially in the muscles of the eustachian tube. Paradoxic constriction, as apposed to dilation, on swallowing is a common tubal dysfunction in humans and certain monkey models with chronic middle-ear effusion. My hypothesis is that chronic otitis media with effusion in patients with tubal constriction is a consequence of adaptation for speech and that, most likely, the levator veli palatini muscle is the cause.
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Nishimura T, Oishi T, Suzuki J, Matsuda K, Takahashi T. Development of the supralaryngeal vocal tract in Japanese macaques: implications for the evolution of the descent of the larynx. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2008; 135:182-94. [PMID: 17960727 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The configuration of the supralaryngeal vocal tract depends on the nonuniform growth of the oral and pharyngeal portion. The human pharynx develops to form a unique configuration, with the epiglottis losing contact with the velum. This configuration develops from the great descent of the larynx relative to the palate, which is accomplished through both the descent of the laryngeal skeleton relative to the hyoid and the descent of the hyoid relative to the palate. Chimpanzees show both processes of laryngeal descent, as in humans, but the evolutionary path before the divergence of the human and chimpanzee lineages is unclear. The development of laryngeal descent in six living Japanese macaque monkeys, Macaca fuscata, was examined monthly during the first three years of life using magnetic resonance imaging, to delineate the present or absence of these two processes and their contributions to the development of the pharyngeal topology. The macaque shows descent of the hyoid relative to the palate, but lacks the descent of the laryngeal skeleton relative to the hyoid and that of the EG from the VL. We argue that the former descent is simply a morphological consequence of mandibular growth and that the latter pair of descents arose in a common ancestor of extant hominoids. Thus, the evolutionary path of the great descent of the larynx is likely to be explained by a model comprising multiple and mosaic evolutionary pathways, wherein these developmental phenomena may have contributed secondarily to the faculty of speech in the human lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Nishimura
- Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
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Vorperian HK, Kent RD. Vowel acoustic space development in children: a synthesis of acoustic and anatomic data. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2007; 50:1510-45. [PMID: 18055771 PMCID: PMC2597712 DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2007/104)] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This article integrates published acoustic data on the development of vowel production. Age specific data on formant frequencies are considered in the light of information on the development of the vocal tract (VT) to create an anatomic-acoustic description of the maturation of the vowel acoustic space for English. METHOD Literature searches identified 14 studies reporting data on vowel formant frequencies. Data on corner vowels are summarized graphically to show age- and sex- related changes in the area and shape of the traditional vowel quadrilateral. CONCLUSIONS Vowel development is expressed as follows: (a) establishment of a language-appropriate acoustic representation (e.g., F1-F2 quadrilateral or F1-F2-F3 space), (b) gradual reduction in formant frequencies and F1-F2 area with age, (c) reduction in formant-frequency variability, (d) emergence of male-female differences in formant frequency by age 4 years with more apparent differences by 8 years, (e) jumps in formant frequency at ages corresponding to growth spurts of the VT, and (f) a decline of f0 after age 1 year, with the decline being more rapid during early childhood and adolescence. Questions remain about optimal procedures for VT normalization and the exact relationship between VT growth and formant frequencies. Comments are included on nasalization and vocal fundamental frequency as they relate to the development of vowel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Houri K Vorperian
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, 481 Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
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Human hyoid bones from the middle Pleistocene site of the Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). J Hum Evol 2007; 54:118-24. [PMID: 17804038 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2006] [Revised: 06/08/2007] [Accepted: 07/03/2007] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
This study describes and compares two hyoid bones from the middle Pleistocene site of the Sima de los Huesos in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain). The Atapuerca SH hyoids are humanlike in both their morphology and dimensions, and they clearly differ from the hyoid bones of chimpanzees and Australopithecus afarensis. Their comparison with the Neandertal specimens Kebara 2 and SDR-034 makes it possible to begin to approach the question of temporal variation and sexual dimorphism in this bone in fossil humans. The results presented here show that the degree of metric and anatomical variation in the fossil sample was similar in magnitude and kind to living humans. Modern hyoid morphology was present by at least 530 kya and appears to represent a shared derived feature of the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages inherited from their last common ancestor.
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