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http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28023630
Researchers led by Dr. Catherine Hobaiter of the University of Saint Andrews have published a study of wild chimpanzee communication in the journal Current Biology.
The researchers studied and filmed wild chimpanzee populations in Uganda, identifying 19 messages using 66 gestures.
Chimpanzees don't appear to use their voices to communicate, but they use gestures in an abstract way.
For example, chimpanzees invite sexual attention by taking tiny bites out of leaves in front of others. Mother chimpanzees invite their babies onto their backs by showing the bottom of a foot.
Researchers led by Dr. Catherine Hobaiter of the University of Saint Andrews have published a study of wild chimpanzee communication in the journal Current Biology.
The researchers studied and filmed wild chimpanzee populations in Uganda, identifying 19 messages using 66 gestures.
Chimpanzees don't appear to use their voices to communicate, but they use gestures in an abstract way.
For example, chimpanzees invite sexual attention by taking tiny bites out of leaves in front of others. Mother chimpanzees invite their babies onto their backs by showing the bottom of a foot.
Dr Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester, said the study was commendable in seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of human language. But, she added, the results were "a little disappointing".
"The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggest either that the chimps have little to communicate, or we are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions," she said.