Scientific re-enactment of Neanderthal voice will still absolutely crack you up

Ever wondered what a scientific re-enactment of a Neanderthal voice would sound like? Well wonder no more, 'cause it's here and it's fantastic:

When people sat down to watch BBC documentary Neanderthal: The Rebirth, they probably weren't tuning in expecting a barrel of laughs. However, one notable part of the doc stole the show, making it as entertaining as it is informative.

In the segment in question, voice coach Patsy Rodenburg is explaining that, contrary to common belief, early humans probably didn't speak with a low-pitched, guttural growl.

Rather, the primitive peeps probs spoke in a higher pitch, and to elucidate this point, Patsy asked some heroic chap called Elliot to count to three in a high-pitched voice.

Now, that was already quite amusing, but from here things really get out of control.

Patsy explained: "Now we might have an idea that a macho sound is low, but that might be very useful, but it gets even more complex."

Due to Neanderthals' body shape, deep ribcage and heavy skull, it turns out the voice could have been distorted further.

So, Patsy asked Elliot to add a bit of nasality to his voice and count to three, and he did not disappoint.

At this point, you can see that Elliot is really getting into it, and rather than simply altering his voice, his entire psyche regresses to something akin to our ancestors'.

BBC

The fun is not over yet though, because Patsy has one final adjustment to make.

She said: "Now, the other thing that would be happening - which would actually increase that quality - is a very heavy skull that seems to pull down into the throat there.

"Now add to that the fact that they had a fantastic chest, which is a support system of breath, which can produce enormous chest resonance and tremendous power.

"So I imagine that they wouldn't have subtle sounds, it would be loud, very loud, or very very loud."

BBC

She proceeded to 'engage' Elliot by getting him to push into her hand, and he then let out an utterly ridiculous: "One, two threeee!"

And just to top the whole segment off fantastically and crystallise its place as a cult classic TV moment, Patsy asked Elliot to make a huge sound, and he delivered with a beautiful: "AAAHHHHHHHH!"

Absolute gold. Bravo Patsy, bravo Elliot.

Topics: TV and Film, Viral

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey