HIGH NOTES OF THE SINGING NEANDERTHALS

Neanderthals have been misunderstood. The early humanoids traditionally characterized as ape-like brutes were deeply emotional beings with high-pitched voices. They may (1)………………..have sung to each other. This new image has (2)………………from two studies of the vocal apparatus and anatomy of the creatures that (3)………………Europe between 200,000 and 35,000 years ago.

The research shows that Neanderthal voices might (4)………………have produced loud, womanly and highly melodic sounds – not the roars and grunts previously (5)………………by most researchers. Stephen Mithen, Professor of Archaeology and author of one of the studies, said: “What is emerging is a (6)…………….of an intelligent and emotionally complex creature whose most likely (7)……………of communication would have been part language and part song.

Mithen’s work (8)………………….with the first detailed study of a reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton. Anthropologists brought together bones and casts from several (9)…………….to re-create the creature. The creature that merges would have (10)……………….markedly from humans. Neanderthals seem to have had an extremely powerful (11)…………….and no waist. Professor Tranton Holliday believes they must have evolved their stocky body shapes to (12)………………..heat when ice covered the world.