Neanderthal Talk
New research suggests that Neanderthals, our closest extinct relatives, may have spoken just like we do. Best known for making tools similar to those our ancestors used, these cavemen were previously believed to have been grunters and groaners, but new data suggests that they possessed the same gene that we credit with our language and speech skills today.
The FOXP2 gene, which scientists assumed had developed into the modern human variant that it is today less than 200,000 years ago, was found in a bunch of Neanderthal bones collected in a cave in northern Spain.
This means, according to paleogeneticist Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, that “It is possible that Neanderthals spoke just like we do.”
The most interesting (or creepiest to imagine, maybe) part of the study is Krause’s theory on how the FOXP2 gene ended up in our biological make-up: he “noted that some might suggest that interbreeding or ‘gene flow’ (aka sex) between modern humans and Neanderthals led us to having FOXP2 in common.”
So if you’ve ever secretly thought those Geiko cavemen were hot, don’t feel bad. Your great-great-great-great-grandma did, too.
