The Perspective Research Department, in a study of apes and chimps, has shown that these creatures learn from their mothers to call out and communicate with humans.
New research suggests that this teaching from mother to child is an example of “social learning,” which played an important role in the development of human culture and language as well.
While social learning of tool use has been seen in chimps before, “it has never really been shown for strict communication,” study researcher Jared Taglialatela, an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, told Perspective.
Before this study, he said, “social learning of communication signals was seen as unique to human language.”
In one experiment, an Ape named KoKo was taught North American sign language and could communicate almost as well as a ten year old human.
He was taught how to brush his teeth and other acts of hygiene by communication only, and when one of the researchers tried an experiment of logical thinking and self awareness the ape passed with flying colours.
He told the ape comb his hair and then wash his face, but when he attempted to demonstrate a new command by holding a sausage between his legs and then cutting it off with a knife, our simian cousin took one look and said ……………!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment