Neanderthals may not be known for their intellectual might, but they were among the first individuals to bury their dead and express themselves artistically, new research shows.
Neanderthals and humans both have a gene variant that enables language. So does this redefine what it means to be human?
A new study of Neanderthal DNA published online in the journal
Current Biology, suggests Neanderthals also had the ability to create language.
The finding hinges upon a single, yet critical, gene called FOXP2, which prior studies have linked to language and speech.
Most birds, mammals and even fish retain a version of this gene, but only humans and Neanderthals share a variant form of it that is believed to enable language.
"So from the point of this gene, there is no reason to think that Neanderthals did not have language as we do," says lead author Johannes Krause
He adds that the find also represents "the first time a specific nuclear gene [has been] retrieved from Neanderthals".
clipped from: www.abc.net.au 