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We have their avian descendants to look at, as well as other large animals. That gives us a reasonable idea of the pitch/volume a dinosaur might have.
But it is important to remember that there is no guarantee. [The things you see in a fossil are not even close to the whole picture.](https://xkcd.com/1747/)
We have their avian descendants to look at, as well as other large animals. That gives us a reasonable idea of the pitch/volume a dinosaur might have.
But it is important to remember that there is no guarantee. [The things you see in a fossil are not even close to the whole picture.](https://xkcd.com/1747/)
We have their avian descendants to look at, as well as other large animals. That gives us a reasonable idea of the pitch/volume a dinosaur might have.
But it is important to remember that there is no guarantee. [The things you see in a fossil are not even close to the whole picture.](https://xkcd.com/1747/)
They don’t. They can only guess. As far as I know, no dinosaur fossil has ever been found with a hyoid bone, which is part of how we’re able to make noise and speak. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t make sounds. It’s quite likely they could, at least some of them. Think less high pitched chirping ala birds today, and more hissing, rumbling, and trumpeting.
They don’t. They can only guess. As far as I know, no dinosaur fossil has ever been found with a hyoid bone, which is part of how we’re able to make noise and speak. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t make sounds. It’s quite likely they could, at least some of them. Think less high pitched chirping ala birds today, and more hissing, rumbling, and trumpeting.
They don’t. They can only guess. As far as I know, no dinosaur fossil has ever been found with a hyoid bone, which is part of how we’re able to make noise and speak. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t make sounds. It’s quite likely they could, at least some of them. Think less high pitched chirping ala birds today, and more hissing, rumbling, and trumpeting.
The thing is that they don’t *know*. It’s a puzzle with some educated guesses, based on some facts that they have managed to shake out of the dirt.
You see, dinosaurs and their skeletons have a lot of similarities to birds. Which means that you can make the educated – but difficult to prove or disprove – guess that a dinosaur would sound like a really huge bird.
Just by comparing a sparrow’s sound to the sound of an ostrich, you get a hint of how size changes the sound. Apply similar reasoning to the size difference between an ostrich and a large dinosaur…and there IS a chance that they actually sounded kind of like it’s pictured in a lot of movies.
Do we know for sure? No. Of course not. We cannot know for sure.
But guessing is fun too, when other scientists agrees that your guesses are not completely stupid.
The thing is that they don’t *know*. It’s a puzzle with some educated guesses, based on some facts that they have managed to shake out of the dirt.
You see, dinosaurs and their skeletons have a lot of similarities to birds. Which means that you can make the educated – but difficult to prove or disprove – guess that a dinosaur would sound like a really huge bird.
Just by comparing a sparrow’s sound to the sound of an ostrich, you get a hint of how size changes the sound. Apply similar reasoning to the size difference between an ostrich and a large dinosaur…and there IS a chance that they actually sounded kind of like it’s pictured in a lot of movies.
Do we know for sure? No. Of course not. We cannot know for sure.
But guessing is fun too, when other scientists agrees that your guesses are not completely stupid.
The thing is that they don’t *know*. It’s a puzzle with some educated guesses, based on some facts that they have managed to shake out of the dirt.
You see, dinosaurs and their skeletons have a lot of similarities to birds. Which means that you can make the educated – but difficult to prove or disprove – guess that a dinosaur would sound like a really huge bird.
Just by comparing a sparrow’s sound to the sound of an ostrich, you get a hint of how size changes the sound. Apply similar reasoning to the size difference between an ostrich and a large dinosaur…and there IS a chance that they actually sounded kind of like it’s pictured in a lot of movies.
Do we know for sure? No. Of course not. We cannot know for sure.
But guessing is fun too, when other scientists agrees that your guesses are not completely stupid.
IIRC for some dinosaurs they know that their heads had cavities that would have acted as resonators, thus shaping the sounds they produce.
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