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Deictic gesturing in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)? Some possible cases

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:14 authored by Catherine Hobaiter, David LeavensDavid Leavens, Richard W Byrne
Referential pointing is important in the development of language comprehension in the child, and is often considered a uniquely human capacity. Non-human great apes do point in captivity, usually for a human audience; but this has been interpreted as an interaction pattern learned from human caretakers, not indicative of natural deictic ability. In contrast, spontaneous pointing for other apes is almost unknown among wild ape populations, supporting doubts as to whether apes naturally have any capacity to point referentially. Here we describe and illustrate four cases of gestures by juvenile chimpanzees in the Sonso chimpanzee community, Budongo, Uganda, that, at some level, may appear to be deictic and referential. We discuss the possible reasons why chimpanzees, if they possess a capacity for referential pointing, do not use it more frequently.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of Comparative Psychology

ISSN

0735-7036

Publisher

American Psychological Association

Issue

1

Volume

128

Page range

82-87

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-09-19

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