As a laryngologist who has studied in some detail both humanoid
and non-humanoid larynges for more than 25 years, I wish to
comment on the article 'Neanderthals weren't so dumb after all'
(Science, 1 July). Every one of the 184 species of mammals I
have studied, comprising more than 900 specimens, possessed a
hyoid bone which was always ossified in the adult and, in
members of the bat family, also in the young. A similar
situation is present in the human larynx - I have studied more
than 400 human specimens in serial section. There is absolutely
no reason to believe that at any time in mammalian development
the larynx was suspended directly from the mandible or tongue
without an intervening hyoid. The prime purpose of the larynx,
apparently unknown to the palaeontologists of Israel, is to
protect the lower respiratory tract. Sound production, called
speech in humans, is very ... To continue reading this article,
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