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Auditory thresholds compatible with optimal speech reception likely evolved before the human-chimpanzee split.

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Human and ape ears transfer sound differently. This study suggests human ear anatomy evolved alongside brain expansion, not for spoken language development. Keywords: human evolution, auditory system, spoken language.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Paleoanthropology
  • Bioacoustics

Background:

  • Human auditory anatomy differs from great apes, but functional implications for speech evolution are unclear.
  • Comparative audiometric data from great apes are limited and contradictory.
  • Understanding these differences is key to tracing the evolution of human spoken language.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sound transfer function of the external and middle ears in humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos.
  • To compare auditory capabilities relevant to spoken language reception across these species.
  • To reassess the role of auditory region evolution in human spoken language emergence.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized laser-Doppler vibrometry to measure sound transfer functions.
  • Employed finite element analysis for detailed auditory system modeling.
  • Collected comparative audiometric data from humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos.

Main Results:

  • Chimpanzee and bonobo ears transfer sound more efficiently than human ears within the speech frequency range.
  • Human external and middle ears show less optimal sound transfer compared to chimpanzees and bonobos.
  • Auditory thresholds in the last common ancestor of Homo and Pan were likely sufficient for speech reception.

Conclusions:

  • The evolution of the bony auditory region in fossil hominins may not have been driven by the emergence of spoken language.
  • The unique human auditory configuration might be a byproduct of constraints related to brain expansion.
  • Auditory system evolution and language origins require further investigation beyond simple morphological comparisons.