Idiosyncratic gesture use in a mother-infant dyad in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the wild.

ABSTRACT: One promising method to tackle the question, "In which modality did language evolve?" is by studying the ontogenetic trajectory of signals in human's closest living relatives, including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Concerning gestures, current debates centre on four different hypotheses: "phylogenetic ritualization", "social transmission through imitation", "ontogenetic ritualization", and "social negotiation". These differ in their predictions regarding idiosyncratic gestures, making such occurrences a crucial area of investigation. Here, we describe a novel and potential idiosyncratic behaviour - 'hand-on-eye' - which was initially observed in one mother-infant dyad in a community of chimpanzees living in the wild. We systematically investigated the form, sequential organisation, inten

SUBMITTER: van Boekholt B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11450076 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature