Estimation of sibilant groove formation and sound generation from early hominin jawbones.

Abstract

The speech production capability of sibilant fricatives of early hominin was assessed by interpolating the modern human vocal tract to an Australopithecine specimen based on the jawbone landmarks, and then simulating the airflow and sound generation. The landmark interpolation demonstrates the possibility to form the sibilant groove in the anterior part of the oral tract, and results of the aeroacoustic simulation indicate that the early hominins had the potential to produce the fricative broadband noise with a constant supply of airflow to the oral cavity, although the ancestor's tongue deformation ability is still uncertain, and the results are highly speculative.