The book is a themed, mutually referenced collection of articles from a very high-powered set of authors based on the workshop on “Current developments in non-human primate gesture research”, which was held in July 2010 at the European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The motivation… read more
Edited by Katja Liebal, Cornelia Müller and Simone Pika
Research into gestures represents a multifaceted field comprising a wide range of disciplines and research topics, varying methods and approaches, and even different species such as humans, apes and monkeys. The aim of this volume (originally published as a Special Issue of Gesture 5:1/2 (2005)) is… read more
We present a new road map for research on “How the Brain Got Language” that adopts an EvoDevoSocio perspective and highlights comparative neuroprimatology – the comparative study of brain, behavior and communication in extant monkeys and great apes – as providing a key grounding for hypotheses… read more
Despite the variety of theories suggesting how human language might have evolved, very few consider the potential role of emotions in such scenarios. The few existing theories jointly highlight that gaining control over the production of emotional communication was crucial for establishing and… read more
We present a new road map for research on “How the Brain Got Language” that adopts an EvoDevoSocio perspective and highlights comparative neuroprimatology – the comparative study of brain, behavior and communication in extant monkeys and great apes – as providing a key grounding for hypotheses… read more
Despite the variety of theories suggesting how human language might have evolved, very few consider the potential role of emotions in such scenarios. The few existing theories jointly highlight that gaining control over the production of emotional communication was crucial for establishing and… read more
This paper presents two pilot studies of sharing situations in orangutans and human infants. We report on the communicative behaviors that elicit food transfers, the contingencies associated with gesture selection and the (relative) success in obtaining food. We focus on the sequential unfolding of… read more
The gestural repertoire of captive gorillas contains the so-called “hand-on” (or “pat-off”) gesture in which one animals puts its flat hand on top of another’s head, which often leads to cessation of the receiver’s previous activity. We investigate the origins of this gesture and developmental… read more
In contrast to apes’ seemingly sophisticated skill at producing pointing gestures referentially, the comprehension of other individual’s pointing gestures as a source of indexical information seems to be less pronounced.One reason for apes’ difficulty at comprehending pointing gestures might be… read more
Left hemisphere dominance for language and speech is a prominent feature of the human brain. Some have suggested that left hemisphere lateralization for language in modern humans evolved from an existing lateralized system for gestural communication in the common ancestor of humans and apes. Here,… read more
Great apes use gestures flexibly across different contexts and with a considerable degree of individual variability. However, little is still known about whether great apes combine gestures to increase the efficacy of their communicative attempts – either by anticipatorily attracting the attention… read more
Gestural communication of nonhuman primates may allow insight into the evolutionary scenario of human communication given the flexible use and learning of gestures as opposed to vocalizations. This paper provides an overview of the work on the gestural communication of apes with the focus on their… read more
Gestural communication of nonhuman primates may allow insight into the evolutionary scenario of human communication given the flexible use and learning of gestures as opposed to vocalizations. This paper provides an overview of the work on the gestural communication of apes with the focus on their… read more
A previous observational study suggested that when faced with a partner with its back turned, chimpanzees tend to move around to the front of a non-attending partner and then gesture — rather than gesturing once to attract attention and then again to convey a specific intent. We investigated this… read more
