Could Neanderthals Speak Like Us?

One key clue to Neanderthal vocal ability comes from a small U-shaped bone in the throat, called the hyoid. This bone anchors the tongue and supports the muscles involved in speech. 

A remarkably well-preserved hyoid from the Kebara 2 skeleton — discovered in northern Israel in 1989 and dated to about 60,000 years ago — is nearly identical in shape to that of modern humans. This suggests that Neanderthals had the anatomical foundation necessary for controlled, speechlike vocalizations rather than mere grunts or animalistic calls.

The discovery of the Kebara 2 hyoid triggered renewed debate over whether they possessed a “modern” vocal tract — and more refined modelling in recent decades has helped the idea gain traction in anthropological circles.

Neanderthals’ hearing ability also contributes to what we know about how they may have communicated. CT scans and 3D reconstructions of Neanderthal ear canals and middle-ear bones reveal that their hearing range peaked between 4 and 5 kHz — a frequency band important for perceiving the subtle consonant sounds of human speech. This finding indicates that Neanderthals were attuned to hear the same sound range that Homo sapiens use in spoken language, suggesting their communication system may have been more developed than previously thought.

Reconstructing the Neanderthal Voice

Using CT scans and 3D models of Neanderthal skulls, vocal tracts, and hyoid bones, scientists are now building detailed reconstructions of how these ancient humans produced sound. Their vocal anatomy was similar but not identical to that of modern humans. Neanderthals had slightly shorter vocal tracts and differently angled skull bases, both of which influence how air resonates as it moves through the throat and mouth. These anatomical differences likely shaped the quality of their speech, producing a voice that would have been recognizably human but with a narrower dynamic range — fewer sharp contrasts between certain vowels and a generally more uniform resonance. 

Even so, anatomical modeling shows that Neanderthals could have produced a wide array of consonant and vowel-like sounds, including core vowel targets such as “ee,” “ah,” and “oo.” In other words, they had the physical capacity for speech, though their voices may have sounded flatter or more nasal than a modern human’s voice. 

What remains uncertain is the complexity of the language they used. Because we can rely only on models derived from fossil anatomy, scientists cannot determine how expressive or syntactically flexible Neanderthal speech might have been. Recent research suggests they likely could speak, but they may not have used metaphors or the kind of layered syntax that modern humans rely on to express abstract ideas, emotional nuance, or the relationship between concepts.

By contrast, early Homo sapiens — who lived alongside Neanderthals for thousands of years — may have developed greater vocal flexibility and more complex syntax. That linguistic agility likely gave our ancestors an edge: Language helped them organize larger groups, share knowledge, and build cultures that endured. Even so, the divide wasn’t vast. The two groups interbred, shared tools, and may have exchanged words. If you stood beside a Neanderthal 50,000 years ago, their voice might have sounded unfamiliar — but recognizably human.

Mastering Fire for Warmth and Cooking

One of the most important innovations for surviving winter was the controlled use of fire. Early humans learned to start and maintain fires, which served multiple crucial functions. Foremost, fire provided a reliable source of warmth, allowing people to huddle around the flames and stave off the bitter cold. It was also essential for cooking food, which made many calorie-dense foods more palatable and digestible, and could be used to ward off predators. 

Beyond these basic needs, fire had important social and cultural significance. Sharing a firepit allowed groups to bond, exchange information, and preserve traditions through storytelling and other activities that not only lifted morale during the darkest days of winter, but also reinforced a sense of community. Gathered around hearths that afforded them warmth, light, and comfort, early humans could venture into climates that otherwise would have been too cold to withstand. 

Using Animal Hides for Clothing and Insulation

Early humans developed extensive clothing and other insulation methods to protect themselves from the cold. A key innovation was the use of animal hides, fur, and pelts. Hunting large game provided both a source of nutrition and also raw materials for warm garments; recent studies have revealed that people in northern Europe were able to survive in winter about 300,000 years ago thanks in part to warm bear skins. The development of sewing technology, including the use of eyed or holed needles made out of bone, allowed for the manufacture of tailor-made clothing, offering even more effective protection in freezing temperatures. 

Gathering and Storing Food Supplies

A major challenge in surviving the winter was ensuring an adequate food supply. During the warmer months, early humans could gather a wide variety of plant foods, hunt game, and, if near the coast, gather shellfish and catch fish. During the lean winter months, however, food could be scarce. Preserving food for later consumption was one solution, and we know that some of our early ancestors did just that. 

Analysis of evidence from Qesem Cave, Israel, suggests that as far back as 420,000 years ago, humans were wrapping and storing marrow in skins for delayed consumption, and storing animal bones for up to nine weeks before eating the bone marrow. Archaeological evidence also suggests that humans placed weights on mammoth meat and submerged it in cool ponds, where it would maintain its freshness for longer than it would in the open air. In frigid winter climates, it’s likely hunters would have frozen meat after a large kill in order to preserve it for later consumption. 

Slowing Down and Sleeping  

Beyond the practical matters of shelter, fire, clothing, and food, early humans also had to adapt their overall daily routines and activities to the winter season. During the warmer months, they may have spent more time outdoors, hunting, gathering, and exploring. In the winter, however, especially during extremely cold periods, they would have necessarily shifted to a more sedentary lifestyle, huddling inside their shelters and perhaps focusing on tasks such as hide processing and toolmaking. It’s even possible that early humans survived the harsh winters by hibernating. 

Evidence from bones found at the Sima de los Huesos (“Pit of Bones”) Paleolithic site in northern Spain — one of the world’s most important fossil sites — suggests that our hominid predecessors may have dealt with extreme cold hundreds of thousands of years ago by sleeping through the winter. By slowing down their metabolisms and sleeping for months, they may have been able to survive for long periods of time in frigid conditions with limited food, relying on their stored body fat. Researchers believe that disruptions in bone development in remains found at the site are potential proof of early human hibernation. 

Facial Features

Neanderthals had a long, low skull that differed from the more rounded skull of Homo sapiens. This gave rise to the prominent brow ridge above their eyes, one of the defining characteristics of the species. Other distinctive facial features included a large middle part of the face, angled cheek bones, large front teeth, and a particularly large nose. Some scientists believe the large nose was an adaptation to living in colder, drier environments, as the nose’s extra internal volume would have helped to moisten and warm the air they breathed. Recent studies show that modern humans have inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that impacted the shape of our noses. 

Intelligence

Neanderthals were not the brutish “cave men” they have sometimes been portrayed as. They were actually an intelligent and accomplished species of human, and not wildly different from Homo sapiens in terms of their mental faculties. However, a 2022 study published in the journal Science revealed a slight but possibly profound difference in the brain development of modern humans and Neanderthals. A gene mutation in Homo sapiens allows for the development of more neurons in the neocortex, an area of the brain involved in cognitive function, and this mutation is not found in Neanderthals and other primates. This change in the wiring of the brain may have given Homo sapiens a cognitive advantage — and could be one of the reasons we survived while the Neanderthals went extinct some 40,000 years ago. 

Lifestyle

Studies suggest that Neanderthals lived in small bands, and likely never formed the large groups that Homo sapiens favored. We don’t know exactly how much larger one group was compared to another, but we do know Neanderthals had lower genetic diversity, which implies smaller social groupings. The more robust and heavier build of the Neanderthals may have necessitated this, as they required more energy and therefore more food, making large groups less attainable (especially in times of scant resources). 

According to Bernard Wood, a paleoanthropologist at George Washington University, Neanderthals needed 600 to 700 more calories a day than modern humans today. In other words, they were not nearly as energy efficient as Homo sapiens — something that could be catastrophic during a famine. And while we don’t know whether Neanderthals and Homo sapiens differed in terms of their levels of aggression, the fact that the latter formed larger bands would have given them an advantage if conflict between the two occurred. Studies also suggest that Homo sapiens were using ranged weapons, including the bow and arrow and spear-throwers, whereas the Neanderthals were not, giving them a substantive advantage when it came to hunting and potential conflict.

Paleolithic People Nurtured Their Pets

Scientists are still puzzled about when and how humans first befriended dogs, but we know it was a very long time ago. One of the earliest pet puppers lived 14,000 years ago in modern-day Germany — and it wasn’t even a working dog, demonstrating a close bond based more on affection than function.

In 2018, researchers analyzed a Paleolithic grave that contained two humans and two dogs. The younger of the two dogs was around 27 weeks old (a little over 6 months) when it died, and it showed evidence of an illness that suggests it wouldn’t have even lived that long without human intervention. Puppies are vulnerable to a serious illness called canine distemper, which is almost always fatal if untreated. The dog in the grave showed a serious case of distemper that developed when it was just 3 or 4 months old, yet it went on to live another two to three months.  The discovery implies a nurturing, loving relationship with dogs that stretches back thousands of years.

Mesolithic People May Have Taken Camping Trips

Just as modern humans occasionally like a change of scenery, Mesolithic people in Scotland ventured out on short trips — though more likely for hunting purposes than sightseeing and leisure. A campsite uncovered on the Mar Lodge Estate historic site in the Scottish Highlands seemed designed for one single short-term stay. Archaeologists found evidence of a campfire and limited tool-making, and believe a very small group of people stayed here one time for only a day or two. A similar site was discovered in Nairn, Scotland, about 45 miles away, in 2011. Another excavation in the Mar Lodge Estate site found a longer-term Mesolithic settlement, but archaeologists don’t think it was used year-round because of harsh winter conditions.

Some Neolithic People Lived in Urban Environments

It’s easy to imagine early hominids spreading out or just grabbing the nearest cave, but at least one group of humans from the Neolithic era built pretty close quarters around 9,000 years ago. In Çatalhöyük, located in central Turkey, early people built mud-brick houses up against each other and on top of each other; researchers believe the site could have as many as 16 layers of homes. Each home had a hearth, oven, and platforms that were likely used for sleeping. The settlement didn’t have streets, so people traveled on the roof, which is also where they entered their homes. Residents kept their homes tidy, and dumped their trash in small open areas between buildings. Cemeteries were also part of these vertical cities; people buried their dead beneath the floor.

Humans Have Been Making Art for More Than 40,000 Years

Southeast Asia is home to some incredibly ancient cave art, including the oldest known figurative drawings — art that depicts a specific form instead of just being abstract. One cave painting in Borneo depicting a four-legged animal dates back at least 40,000 years, but potentially as many as 52,000 years. Scientists suspect it’s a banteng, a species of cattle that still exists both in captivity and the wild. Another painting, from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, at least 44,000 years old, shows a buffalo being hunted by half-human, half-animal creatures. A cave painting of a Sulawesi warty pig is at least 45,500 years old. Abstract art, meanwhile, goes back even further. Cave art on the Iberian Peninsula in Spain, potentially made by Neanderthals, is at least 64,000 years old.

We’re Still Discovering New Human Species

In the last 150 years, scientists identified some very early human species. Homo habilis, for instance, discovered in 1960, lived between 2.4 million and 1.4 million years ago. Homo rudolfensis, discovered in 1986, lived between 1.9 million and 1.8 million years ago. And Homo erectus, discovered in 1890, lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago. In more recent years, genetic research has turned up other previously unknown species that we are still learning about. Scientists discovered the Denisovans in 2008 as a separate species based on genetic sequencing of fossils. Other species of ancient humans have only been found in the genome. One human species started breeding with Homo sapiens around 43,000 years ago. Some are much, much older: When Neanderthals and Denisovans first reached Europe and Asia hundreds of thousands of years ago, so-called “super archaics” were already there. Neanderthals and Denisovans mated with them and eventually replaced them, just as modern humans would eventually do to Neanderthals and Denisovans.