The pre-neanderthal (Homo Heidelbergensis) finds at the Atapuerca site near Burgos in Spain offer one of the most promising directions for paleoanthropological research: to establish the degree of oral communication in that species by reconstruction of the sound-producing mechanism (hyoid) and hearing apparatus (bone structure and inner-ear cavity).
The theory of the "Neolithic revolution" implies a diffusionist interpretation of the spread of innovations such as agriculture and pottery [REF].