It’s a common trope in fantasy and science fiction for non-human races like elves and Vulcans to sport distinctive, pointy ears. In fact, Spock’s pointy ears were developed as a really inexpensive way to make him instantly recognizable as an alien species.
Which makes me wonder – why don’t pointy ears exist as a natural human feature? Most mammals have pointy-ish ears, from rodents to cats to antelope. It’s only the primate species which have those boring round ears, which really aren’t as effective in gathering sound. But that’s what they evolved, so we humans are stuck with them.
Is there any physiological reason why pointy ears wouldn’t work with humans? Or is it just an accident of evolution that we don’t have people walking around who resemble Legolas?
Animals with pointy ears have them on the top of their heads, where the ears can be pointed in different directions to pin down the direction a sound is coming from. Human ears are on the sides of our heads, and can’t really point any way except to the sides, so there’s no advantage for us to have points.
There’s rarely a point to asking why something “didn’t” happen. There’s often no answer. From an evolutionary perspective, if a mutation offers no advantage to the perpetuation of the species, it is unlikely to perpetuate.
If we all had pointy ears, someone would probably be on the internet asking why we don’t have round ears.
First panel: Vulcan child sitting on the ground, looking very dour. Three other Vulcan children, pointing and laughing, saying “Spock has pointy ears! Spock has pointy ears!”
Second panel: Spock says: “Your remarks are highly illogical. We all have pointy ears.”
Third panel: The other three Vulcan children are putting their hands on their ears, investigating their shape.
Fourth panel: All four Vulcan children are sitting on the ground, looking very dour.
Most of the time, evolution tries to balance survival by using the minimum amount of equipment required. Even a bit of extra ear cost a little energy to keep alive. However. If pointy ears had become some sexual attraction, then they might have become extravagantly long and pointy.
Pointy ears imply muscles* to aim the points in various directions, to locate a sound. Such extra layers of muscles along the neck & collarbone make the idea of a ‘Vulcan nerve pinch’ quite unlikely and nonsensical.
But then it’s TV; it doesn’t have to make sense.
*Humans have some such muscles, but atrophied & minuscule.
I disagree with this statement of fact. Most rodents have sort of round-ish shell-like ears. Antelope and other deer have ears that are typically erect, but only a little bit pointy (and quite round in most cases) - and even then, not really pointy in the elfin/Vulcan sense.
