{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T06:09:53Z","timestamp":1791958193756,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"6607","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Science"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Human speech production obeys the same acoustic principles as vocal production in other animals but has distinctive features: A stable vocal source is filtered by rapidly changing formant frequencies. To understand speech evolution, we examined a wide range of primates, combining observations of phonation with mathematical modeling. We found that source stability relies upon simplifications in laryngeal anatomy, specifically the loss of air sacs and vocal membranes. We conclude that the evolutionary loss of vocal membranes allows human speech to mostly avoid the spontaneous nonlinear phenomena and acoustic chaos common in other primate vocalizations. This loss allows our larynx to produce stable, harmonic-rich phonation, ideally highlighting formant changes that convey most phonetic information. Paradoxically, the increased complexity of human spoken language thus followed simplification of our laryngeal anatomy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abm1574","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,11]],"date-time":"2022-08-11T13:58:26Z","timestamp":1660226306000},"page":"760-763","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":76,"title":["Evolutionary loss of complexity in human vocal anatomy as an adaptation for speech"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"377","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3800-2194","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Takeshi","family":"Nishimura","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."},{"name":"Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6212-0022","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Isao T.","family":"Tokuda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shigehiro","family":"Miyachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."},{"name":"Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3487-6513","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jacob C.","family":"Dunn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK."},{"name":"Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK."},{"name":"Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian T.","family":"Herbst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."},{"name":"Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazuyoshi","family":"Ishimura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3629-1658","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Akihisa","family":"Kaneko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."},{"name":"Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuki","family":"Kinoshita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."},{"name":"Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0927-3473","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hiroki","family":"Koda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3209-2969","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jaap P. P.","family":"Saers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6957-0031","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hirohiko","family":"Imai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2339-1521","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tetsuya","family":"Matsuda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8325-0982","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ole N\u00e6sbye","family":"Larsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Uwe","family":"J\u00fcrgens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Neurobiology, German Primate Center, D-37077 G\u00f6ttingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hideki","family":"Hirabayashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shozo","family":"Kojima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1830-0928","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"W. Tecumseh","family":"Fitch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria."},{"name":"Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7998.2009.00661.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1219712"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.4921607"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms9978"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1364-6613(00)01494-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/anbe.2001.1912"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0149-7634(01)00068-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","unstructured":"I. R. Titze Principles of Voice Production (Prentice Hall 1994)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"K. N. Stevens Acoustic Phonetics (MIT Press 1998).","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/1072.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.164.3884.1185"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/509092"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1231107100"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","first-page":"274","article-title":"The Saccus laryngis in primates","volume":"78","author":"Hayama S.","year":"1970","unstructured":"S. Hayama, The Saccus laryngis in primates. J. Anthrol. Soc. Jpn. 78, 274\u2013298 (1970).","journal-title":"J. Anthrol. Soc. Jpn."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature05047"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","unstructured":"S. Hayama \u201cFrom what period did the formation of human glottal tones originate?\u201d in Primatology Today A. Ehara T. Kimura O. Takenaka M. Iwamoto Eds. (Elsevier 1991) pp. 491\u2013492."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.426735"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-12588-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.421104"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","unstructured":"P. Marler R. Tenaza \u201cSignaling behavior of apes with special reference to vocalization \u201d in How Animals Communicate T. A. Sebeok Ed. (Indiana Univ. Press Bloomington 1977) pp. 965\u20131033."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/j.1538-7305.1972.tb02651.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","unstructured":"J. Neubauer \u201cNonlinear dynamics of the voice: Bifurcations and mode analysis of complex spatio-temporal signals \u201d thesis Humboldt University of Berlin (2004)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1537\/ase.171130"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","unstructured":"P. Berg Y. Pomeau C. Vidal Order within Chaos: Towards a Deterministic Approach to Turbulence (Wiley 1986)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"L. Glass M. C. Mackey From Clocks to Chaos: The Rhythms of Life (Princeton Univ. Press 1988).","DOI":"10.1515\/9780691221793"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0735-7036.117.4.380"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.2258499"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0375-9601(90)90305-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1044\/jshr.3705.1008"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/joa.12449"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","unstructured":"W. P. Maddison D. R. Maddison Mesquite: a modular system for evolutionary analysis. Version 3.61 (2018). http:\/\/www.mesquiteproject.org"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gene.2009.05.013"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgen.1001342"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ympev.2005.03.032"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","unstructured":"S. Kurita K. Nagata M. Hirano \u201cA comparative study of the layer structure of the vocal fold \u201d in Vocal Fold Physiology: Contemporary Research and Clinical Issues D. M. Bless J. H. Abbs Eds. (College-Hill Press San Diego 1983) pp. 3\u201321."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000263771"}],"container-title":["Science"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/science.abm1574","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,1]],"date-time":"2024-10-01T03:12:39Z","timestamp":1727752359000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.abm1574"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6607","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1126\/science.abm1574"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.abm1574","relation":{},"ISSN":["0036-8075","1095-9203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0036-8075","type":"print"},{"value":"1095-9203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]}}}