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Publication
Connecting primate gesture to the evolutionary roots of language: A systematic review
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Comparative psychology provides important contributions to our understanding of
the origins of human language. The presence of common features in human and
nonhuman primate communication can be used to suggest the evolutionary trajectories
of potential precursors to language. However, to do so effectively, our findings
must be comparable across diverse species. This systematic review describes
the current landscape of data available from studies of gestural communication in
human and nonhuman primates that make an explicit connection to language evolution.
We found a similar number of studies on human and nonhuman primates, but
that very few studies included data from more than one species. As a result, evolutionary
inferences remain restricted to comparison across studies. We identify
areas of focus, bias, and apparent gaps within the field. Different domains have been
studied in human and nonhuman primates, with relatively few nonhuman primate
studies of ontogeny and relatively few human studies of gesture form. Diversity in
focus, methods, and socio‐ecological context fill important gaps and provide
nuanced understanding, but only where the source of any difference between studies
is transparent. Many studies provide some definition for their use of gesture;
but definitions of gesture, and in particular, criteria for intentional use, are absent in
the majority of human studies. We find systematic differences between human and
nonhuman primate studies in the research scope, incorporation of other modalities,
research setting, and study design. We highlight eight particular areas in a call to
action through which we can strengthen our ability to investigate gestural communication's
contribution within the evolutionary roots of human language.
Description
Keywords
Domains Gestures Humans Language evolution Humans Nonhuman primates
Citation
Rodrigues, E. D., Santos, A. J., Veppo, F., Pereira, J., & Hobaiter, C. (2021). Connecting primate gesture to the evolutionary roots of language: A systematic review. American Journal of Primatology, 83(9), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23313
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons Inc.