Study Sheds New Light on Evolution of Speech in Humans, Revealing Shared Ancestor and Orangutans’ Role

At a glance

• Participants in the study accurately identified what the apes were trying to communicate more than half the time, a rate that was significantly higher than random chance.
• It was found that humans had the ability to instinctively interpret ape gestures, suggesting that humans and primates share a common ancestor.
• Orangutans display more advanced vocal techniques than the other ground-dwelling apes due to the mobility of their lips, tongues, and jaws, allowing them to make both vowel and consonant sounds.
• Orangutans may have been instrumental in the evolution of speech in human ancestors.
• Orangutans’ vocal techniques may help to explain the complexity of modern-day human speech.

The details

Results of Research Study

The study surveyed 5,656 volunteers and presented them with 100 videos featuring gestures from chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans.

Participants in the study accurately identified what the apes were trying to communicate more than half the time, a rate that was significantly higher than random chance.

It was found that humans were particularly adept at recognizing requests for grooming as well as for food.

This finding demonstrated that humans may have had the ability to instinctively interpret ape gestures, and further suggested that we share a common ancestor with primates.

Orangutans and the Evolution of Speech

The study indicated that orangutans may have been instrumental in the evolution of speech in human ancestors.

Orangutans display more advanced vocal techniques than the other ground-dwelling apes due to the mobility of their lips, tongues, and jaws, allowing them to use sound as a fifth hand to hold and maneuver tools.

This flexibility also allows them to make both vowel and consonant sounds.

Experts believe that this is what laid the foundation for the evolution of complicated speech patterns in human ancestors.

In the wild, orangutans are known to make use of clicks, kiss-sounds, smacking, splutters, and raspberries.

Overall Conclusions

Overall, the results of this study provided insights into the development of human speech, suggesting that a shared common ancestor between humans and apes may have provided the instinctive capability for humans to interpret ape gestures.

Additionally, orangutans display more advanced vocal techniques than the other ground-dwelling apes, which may help to explain the complexity of modern-day human speech.