Human DNA is 99% similar to that of Chimpanzees
Researchers say they have translated the meaning of gestures that wild chimpanzees use to communicate.
They say wild chimps communicate 19 specific messages to one another with a “lexicon” of 66 gestures.
The scientists discovered this by following and filming communities of chimps in Uganda, and examining more than 5,000 incidents of these meaningful exchanges.
The research is published in the journal Current Biology.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
There’s another species out there that is meaningful in its communication”
Dr Catherine HobaiterUniversity of St Andrews
Dr Catherine Hobaiter, who led the research, said that this was the only form of intentional communication to be recorded in the animal kingdom.
Only humans and chimps, she said, had a system of communication where they deliberately sent a message to another individual.
“That’s what’s so amazing about chimp gestures,” she told BBC News.
“They’re the only thing that looks like human language in that respect.”
Although previous research has revealed that apes and monkeys can understand complex information from another animal’s call, the animals do not appear to use their voices intentionally to communicate messages.
Continue reading the main story in BBC
“Start Quote
We are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions”
Dr Susanne ShultzUniversity of Manchester
This was a crucial difference between calls and gestures, Dr Hobaiter said.
“It’s a bit like if you pick up a hot cup of coffee and you scream and blow on your fingers,” she said.
“I can understand from that that the coffee was hot, but you didn’t necessarily intend to communicate that to me.”
Subtle signals
Some of the chimps’ gestures, the researchers say, are unambiguous – used consistently to convey one meaning.
Leaf clipping, for example, where a chimp very obviously takes small bites from leaves is used only to elicit sexual attention.
Many others, though, appear to be ambiguous. A grab, for example, is used for: “Stop that,” “Climb on me,” and “Move away.”
Although many are very subtle, some of the footage captured by the researchers shows very clearly what the chimps mean to convey.
