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  • In the News: Why Your Voice Is Quieter Than an Orangutan's

August 25th, 2008

In the News: Why Your Voice Is Quieter Than an Orangutan's

An orangutan has larger vocal tract air sacs

photo by Kabir Bakie

All great apes, including human beings, have vocal tract air sacs that they use to call out loud. Ours have evolved to be smaller than the other apes’, leaving them with louder voices.

But the decrease in volume was a tradeoff for better control, a necessary precursor for language.

Learn more in the full story from Discovery News.

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