News Humans

The rise of farming altered our bite and changed how people talk

Eating softer food preserves a slight overbite that makes it easier to pronounce certain sounds

a composite photo of two skulls showing differences in overbites

SOUND BITES  The skull of an ancient female hunter-gatherer from Romania (left) lacks a slight overbite seen in the 2,500-year-old skull of an adult male from Greek civilization (right).

Mihai Constantinescu, Institutul de Antropologie; Gianni Tortoli/Science Source

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Humankind’s gift of gab is not set in stone, and farming could help to explain why.