Body language
The interplay between positional behavior and gestural signaling in the genus Pan and its implications for language evolution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8317645 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lindsey W Smith (Thompson Writing Program, Duke University NC, corresponding author), Roberto A Delgado (New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology NY) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 157 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 592-602 |
| Publication date | 2015-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajpa.22751 |
| PMID | 25851528 |
| OpenAlex | W1489418354 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 55 |
OBJECTIVES: The gestural repertoires of bonobos and chimpanzees are well documented, but the relationship between gestural signaling and positional behavior (i.e., body postures and locomotion) has yet to be explored. Given that one theory for language evolution attributes the emergence of increased gestural communication to habitual bipedality, this relationship is important to investigate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we examined the interplay between gestures, body postures, and locomotion in four captive groups of bonobos and chimpanzees using ad libitum and focal video data. RESULTS: We recorded 43 distinct manual (involving upper limbs and/or hands) and bodily (involving postures, locomotion, head, lower limbs, or feet) gestures. In both species, actors used manual and bodily gestures significantly more when recipients were attentive to them, suggesting these movements are intentionally communicative. Adults of both species spent less than 1.0% of their observation time in bipedal postures or locomotion, yet 14.0% of all bonobo gestures and 14.7% of all chimpanzee gestures were produced when subjects were engaged in bipedal postures or locomotion. Among both bonobo groups and one chimpanzee group, these were mainly manual gestures produced by infants and juvenile females. Among the other chimpanzee group, however, these were mainly bodily gestures produced by adult males in which bipedal posture and locomotion were incorporated into communicative displays. DISCUSSION: Overall, our findings reveal that bipedality did not prompt an increase in manual gesturing in these study groups. Rather, body postures and locomotion are intimately tied to many gestures and certain modes of locomotion can be used as gestures themselves
Biology · Bipedalism · Body language · Bonobo · Cognitive psychology · Gesture · Linguistics · Action Observation and Synchronization · Anatomy · Communication · Ecology · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience · Psychology
External body dimensions ofPan paniscus andPan troglodytes chimpanzees
The growth pattern of chimpanzees
Body size and proportions in chimpanzees, with special reference toPan troglodytes schweinfurthii from Gombe National Park, Tanzania
From Hand to Mouth
Standardized descriptions of primate locomotor and postural modes
Gesture's Role in Speaking, Learning, and Creating Language
The Communicative Repertoire of Captive Bonobos (Pan Paniscus), Compared To That of Chimpanzees
Growth rates in a wild primate population
From monkey-like action recognition to human language
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Comparative positional behavior of the African apes
Observational Study of Behavior
The Talking Ape
Gesture Use by Chimpanzees ( P an troglodytes )
Considering the role of social dynamics and positional behavior in gestural communication research
Asymmetries in postural control and locomotion in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Gestural communication in subadult bonobos (Pan paniscus)
Are bonobos ( Pan paniscus ) really more bipedal than chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )
Gestural communication in young gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla )
Use of gesture sequences in chimpanzees
Gestural communication of apes
Gesture and the communicative intention of the speaker
Gestures as embodied cognition
Locomotor behavior of Pan paniscus in Zaire
Comparative locomotor behavior of chimpanzees and bonobos
Weight, growth and age in chimpanzee
The leaf-clipping display
Primate Communication and the Gestural Origin of Language [and Comments and Reply]
The evolution of human bipedality
Research in nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication during early childhood
Evidence for a Social Custom in Wild Chimpanzees
A Definitional System for the Classification of Primate Locomotion
Primate Communication and the Gestural Origin of Language
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |