The Impact of Landscape Shifts on Human Language Evolution

A new study suggests that a shift from dense forests to open plains during the Miocene era may have influenced the evolution of human language. Researchers used orangutan calls, believed to resemble early human sounds, projected across an African savannah to study how the environment shaped our ancestors' ability to speak. The study found that consonant-based calls were more audible over long distances in open landscapes, indicating that moving to open plains may have been crucial in hominid vocal communication. The findings suggest that the ecological settings and soundscapes experienced by our hominid ancestors may have had a significant impact on the emergence and shape of spoken language.