The way you speak now was shaped by what your ancestors ate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists report that the way most of us speak today has been shaped in part by how long ago our ancestors gave up chewing on tough, raw meat.

The sounds we utter are influenced by the placement of our jaws, which changed over thousands of years along with our diets.

Jaws were set differently in Stone Age adult humans who were chewing raw meat.

As more societies developed agriculture and consumed softer food, such as cooked grains and meats, jaws changed and languages were able to incorporate different sounds.

The research was published Thursday in the journal Science.