Gesture use in consortship
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Catherine Hobaiter
Abstract
We describe the gestural communication of wild chimpanzees in the evolutionarily urgent context of consortship. Consortship represented the dominant context for the use of gestural communication by adult males in the Sonso community. Gesturing provided consorting males with the opportunity to communicate their intentions to the female, while avoiding the risk of also advertising these to other community males. The extensive use of gesturing by adult males differs from the low frequency reported in captivity, and emphasises the importance of studying behaviour in a natural population.
Abstract
We describe the gestural communication of wild chimpanzees in the evolutionarily urgent context of consortship. Consortship represented the dominant context for the use of gestural communication by adult males in the Sonso community. Gesturing provided consorting males with the opportunity to communicate their intentions to the female, while avoiding the risk of also advertising these to other community males. The extensive use of gesturing by adult males differs from the low frequency reported in captivity, and emphasises the importance of studying behaviour in a natural population.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- About the contributors xi
- Introduction 1
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Article
- Facial-vocal displays, gestures and language 13
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Research Studies
- Does ontogenetic ritualization explain early communicative gestures in human infants? 33
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Non-human primates
- A mother gorilla’s variable use of touch to guide her infant 55
- Spontaneous use of gesture sequences in orangutans 73
- Handedness for manual gestures in great apes 93
- Mandrill visual gestures 113
- Gesture use in consortship 129
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New trends and debates
- A call for conformity 147
- Cognitivism, adaptationism and pointing 165
- Pointing 181
- Requesting behaviours within episodes of active sharing 199
-
Article
- Hands and faces 223
- Where next? 241
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- About the contributors xi
- Introduction 1
-
Article
- Facial-vocal displays, gestures and language 13
-
Research Studies
- Does ontogenetic ritualization explain early communicative gestures in human infants? 33
-
Non-human primates
- A mother gorilla’s variable use of touch to guide her infant 55
- Spontaneous use of gesture sequences in orangutans 73
- Handedness for manual gestures in great apes 93
- Mandrill visual gestures 113
- Gesture use in consortship 129
-
New trends and debates
- A call for conformity 147
- Cognitivism, adaptationism and pointing 165
- Pointing 181
- Requesting behaviours within episodes of active sharing 199
-
Article
- Hands and faces 223
- Where next? 241
- Index 253
