Did You Know You Speak Ape?

[@bn444]

The part about babies going through a non-verbal, ape like stage reminds me of the idea that you can see a resemblance of prior phylogeny in the development of a fetus.

[@borttorbbq2556]

Oh there's another one that's bit of an extension. The young of two closely related species are more likely to be physically and behaviorally similar.

[@Evanhutton19]

@@borttorbbq2556 the morphology of human features, namely the face, are neotenic forms of more archaic features, in this case chimp like features.

[@borttorbbq2556]

@@Evanhutton19 yeah I'm aware of that

[@RagingInsomniac]

@@borttorbbq2556 thats kinda crazy to think about, but it makes sense.

[@borttorbbq2556]

@@RagingInsomniac orangutan chimpanzee gorilla and human babies all look remarkably similar. Look it up sometime it's kind of crazy especially when you compare just how different the adults are

[@HunnidTheTrapper02]

In Africa some of our moms still carry us on their backs. Although sometimes the child is supported mostly by a cloth, I've seen instances where the baby just clutches onto his/her mother's back without any support. I think if we study home more, we might find some of our residual characteristics which are still prevalent in other apes to be quite common.

[@andymurray3516]

that's a great point

[@greasher926]

Even in western countries, parents will often carry their kids on their backs when going on long walks and the kid gets tired or can’t keep up.

[@gljames24]

Back baskets are common across the globe. Babies also have really high grip strength.

[@medicinemouse7647]

Where's that video of the kid holding onto a spinning entrance to a carnival ride and just sitting upside down when you need it

[@seatbelttruck]

That's pretty cool. Even elsewhere, kids seem to have a pretty strong instinct to climb onto their caregivers' backs. Piggyback rides exist for a reason. I know we have an old home video somewhere of preschool me perched on my dad's back while he was weeding the garden, just because I wanted to climb up there.

[@Canuovea]

Sign language may have been the first human language type, then? Very interesting. It seems that it possibly worked alongside spoken language, at least. EDIT: I also learned that babies pick up sign languages faster than spoken languages too, which goes hand in hand with this idea.

[@AccidentalNinja]

There is another potential reason why babies pick up sign languages faster: they can see how the adults are doing it & make their hands mimic it. Most verbal communication is not visible, so you pretty much have to experiment with a whole bunch of parts to see what produces the right sounds.

[@Canuovea]

@@AccidentalNinja Definitely true. Vocal stuff doesn't come super easy, but moving around their arms and hands? Apparently it does. Though my understanding is that "milk" and "more" are usually the first signs learned at a month or two (or so?). I think for ASL, the sign for "milk" is a fist-like hand movement, which seems like it would be rather easy. "More" is more complicated. In either case, it's likely more intuitive than figuring out precise vocal cord shenanigans. I'm no expert though, I was just talking to someone about it.

[@erinhaury5773]

I was taught sign language (as a baby) back in the 80's because you can sign before your vocal cords are developed enough to speak. We continued this with the next generation and I'm a big supporter of it. Not only is it helpful with pre-speech communication, but it can be carried forward in life as an additional language skill.

[@Canuovea]

@@erinhaury5773 There are even direct cognitive benefits to knowing multiple languages, from what I understand. It makes a lot of sense to teach kids that way.

[@JobvanderZwan]

One of the hypotheses for why we use spoken languages instead of sign languages is that spoken languages use over an order of magnitude less energy. It's kind of a freebie we get alongside inhaling and exhaling air

[@1953bassman]

While Erica was talking about how we use gestures, she was using all kinds of gestures that we all use all of the time!

[@tohaason]

No, as I commented elsewhere, her gestures are in no way universal. I, for one, use almost none of them the way she does. And my wife, from the other side of the world, doesn't either, and when she use a gesture she uses one hand only. It's cultural, in other words - Erika's way of using her hands when she talks is nearly entirely because she picked it up from people she watched while growing up.

[@harrietharlow9929]

The fact is our laguages are gestural as well as spoken. My mother tried to get me not to use gestures when I spoke when I was little. It didn't work because, I guess, the drive to gesticulate when vocalising is inborn IMO. I use gestures because that is a very human and ape thing to do.

[@harrietharlow9929]

The gestures may not be universal, but it does show that the combination of gestures with vocalisation certainly is, even if the gestures may not mean the same thing universally.

[@degaussingatmosphericcharg575]

​@@harrietharlow9929 There is research showing that the region of the brain that controls the tongue is the same region that controls the hands. (not sure if it is conclusive evidence though..)

[@harrietharlow9929]

@@degaussingatmosphericcharg575 That is very, very interesting.

[@krankarvolund7771]

Being able to shout is not the first idea that came to mind as to why oral language is practical, even in a hunt you don't want to shout because game have ears too. Most hunter societies use sign languages in hunts ^^ But being able to speak allows you to communicate in the dark, without looking at someone, when your hands are busy or carrying something, it's more practical in a group communication, a lot of advantages that do not require to shout ^^

[@___.51]

She did specify big game, so my mind went to groups of hunters covering large distances to hunt mammoths, elephants, wooly rhinoceros, that kind of thing. An event that might benefit greatly from communication at a distance.

[@krankarvolund7771]

@@___.51 Mammoths still hear you, you know? They may have smaller ears than elephants, but they probably had functionning ears XD So no, I don't really see how that change anything. Whether you're at two kilometers of your base camp or fifty, you still need to be cautious around your prey, and not spook it too soon ^^' Besides, hunter-gatherers probably didn't go very far to hunt big preys. Because there's a limit on how much a human can carry on its way back, you don't want to kill a mammoth of several tons at 50 km of your home. If we look at how Native americans hunted bisons, before we reintroduced horses in the great plains, they hunted bisons only when their migration brought them close to their camp. It's when they had horses that they began to follow hers around the Plains, and prehistoric people didn't domesticated horses yet.

[@fawazahmed4978]

@@krankarvolund7771sorry i forgot the exact link but there was a yt documentary i watched a couple months back documenting the last (or one of the last) hunter gatherer tribes in the modern age. in that documentary they went hunting once and to my surprise it wasnt quiet but they actually went out of their way to produce very loud sounds and whatnot. again im aware that ive not provided a link so its sketchy but i also cant be bothered so if ur willing to take my word on it or search yourself its at the very least quite interesting

[@krankarvolund7771]

@@fawazahmed4978 I also saw a tribe of hunter-fatherers ina youtube video, and when they approached a prey they told the cameraman to stay silent :p You may want to be loud when you're travelling to scare predators away, but one you approach a prey, it's stupid to warn it that you're coming ^^'

[@The_Crimson_Witch]

@Krankar Volund I know this is 3 months old, but I can't help myself. When they are talking about shouting during hunts over long distances, they aren't talking about distance from home. None of us are imagining a group of hunters screaming at each other from 30 feet away. We mean when you have multiple hunting groups that are a long distance from one another, then when one group spots their prey they can alert other nearby groups. As persistance hunters, prey fleeing is more of an annoyance than a hinderance, and numbers are far more valuable to us than the immediate element of surprise.

[@Where_is_Waldo]

Don't ever stop making content like this. I love getting a chance to learn from you about other apes both modern and ancient.

[@nosajsamaniego4512]

We are not apes...;

[@Where_is_Waldo]

@@nosajsamaniego4512 Must not be eukaryotes either then, and don't dare to call us vertebrates.

[@sirave6017]

​@@Where_is_Waldo Maybe they are just making a distinction between 'apes' and primates? :D

[@Where_is_Waldo]

@@sirave6017 Apes are within the primate group, we're within the ape group. That's how it works. Thus, apes are monkeys and we are apes. (edit:) To clarify, we're in the ape group, which is in the monkey group, which is in the primate group, thus we are apes, monkeys and primates in the same way that we're mammals, vertebrates and eukaryotes.

[@coweatsman]

@@nosajsamaniego4512 What then is YOUR taxonomy for humans. Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin must be tres offensive to you.

[@kellydalstok8900]

My 21 month old grandson hardly uses any spoken language yet, or that I can recognize at least, but he’s an excellent communicator with gestures, facial expressions and sounds. Maybe, like his mother before him, he prefers to listen to speech until he’s ready to baffle us with the number of words he already knows.

[@saralaerevu8735]

Oh, apparently I didn't start talking until I was 2 but when I started I used simple but still full ass sentences. Development of little humans is fascinating

[@mattymoowhite]

" rather than homo sapiens ( wise man) should we instead be pan narrans ( the storytelling ape ) : the science of discworld, Pratchett,Stewart & Cohen

[@rogerstone3068]

I suspect that homo ferox or homo belligerans would be more accurate and honest. If we're going to stick with something reflecting intelligence, we'd be better finding a word meaning 'clever' rather than 'wise'. We have plenty of cleverness, not much wisdom.

[@merrigalebeddoes1921]

50 years ago, I was in Italy with my husband, who was in the US Air Force. I spoke fluent Spanish when I got there, and, the Italians using so many gestures that I had picked up, I could communicate pretty well without having to learn much Italian. I was in Florence at the Ponte Vecchio, and there were several young people with blankets spread out, displaying their handmade jewelry. I admired one guy’s work and began talking with him. We had a nice 10 or 15 minute conversation when he asked where I was from. When I replied Los Angeles, he blew up, saying in English, “You speak English?! You let me stumble along in Italian and you speak English?” It turned out he was Israeli. I hadn’t realized until then that I had been conversing almost exclusively with gestures. Since then, I spent several years in Japan, several years in Hawaii, and now live in Nevada. I still use several of those gestures, and most people seem to understand them just fine. I wonder how many other primates would as well.

[@OakToad]

He was hocking Jewelry on the beach and you didn't assume..? Haha.

[@merrigalebeddoes1921]

@@OakToad The Pointe Vecchio is a bridge in the middle of Florence filled with jewelry and goldsmith shops, so a perfect place for them to sell their handmade jewelry. Haha. Nowhere near the beach.

[@erictaylor5462]

3:00 This is probably why apes are easy to train in sign language. To teach an animal sign language they must realize that what you are doing is trying to communicate. The *REALLY* amazing thing is, dogs can learn gestures as communication. How can you understand that gestures are an attempt to communicate if you have no ability to gesture yourself?

[@theshermantanker7043]

"Did you know you speak Ape?" Humans: _Are literally part of the Great Ape family_

[@azhdarchidae66]

did you know apes speak ape?

[@stanleyhyde8529]

I came to understand several years ago that a lot of our language is unspoken. What's interesting is that in some ways it can cross the species line. The same gestures that elicit aggression as well as calmness in humans will often get a similar response from most other kinds of animals, especially mammals. I can only give personal experience which doesn't really count for much. Studies like this being up for peer review at least add weight to the idea that body language isn't just a human language though. It's definitely at the front of my mind when I find a random dog on the street with no human around.

[@autohmae]

I wonder if the body language actually gave a lot of context clues in this case far more than the people working on the study were aware of.

[@catpoke9557]

It's evolutionarily advantageous if species that will frequently interact with each other can perform basic communication with each other. Mainly the ability to express aggression.

[@Isit_friend_orfriend_shaped]

You always make learning fun thank you for being my first baby steps into ape evolution. It was always so intimidating to me, but you make it really understandable and digestible. Thank you Erica you're one of my heros.

[@MyMy-tv7fd]

midwits ahoy

[@wendydomino]

You've now fixed a major plot hole in the Planet of the Apes franchise. You've explained why Taylor can understand Zira and the other apes in the far future and why they can recognize his speech!

[@salmansadeq1167]

The apes speak English, and only English, because the first apes were taught that.

[@k.c.r.5974]

When actual Apes make a movie called "planet of the humans" the world will accept that humans are apes and apes are humans. 🎞️📽️🎬🎥 🐒🐵🙈🙉🦍

[@Kualinar]

Using sound to communicate will work when the other is not looking at you, or can't see you well enough, like, when it's dark or there are obscuring obstacles in the way. That's a very interesting study.

[@erikswenson2659]

Yes Seems like freeing up our visual channel would be at least as important as distant communication. You have to stop most other activities to see gestures, but can speak and pretty much do anything else without interruption.

[@Kualinar]

@@erikswenson2659 That's another strong point for vocal communication. That makes for two clear evolutionary advantages.

[@dynamicworlds1]

It also allows communication while your hands are occupied with something like tedious tool-making (or when your hands are simply occupied holding/carrying objects). I don't think it's coincidental that a lot of things like weaving cloth/baskets and knitting are often treated as social activities where there is traditionally a fair amount of talking/gossiping.

[@dmckenzie9281]

Thank you! This was interesting to me because I am Dad to a 20 year old very autistic and non verbal Son. I would be interested to know if there is a source for the gestures that they tested to see if my son uses any. He does use some gestures that I recognize but always assumed were unique to him. He has show very little interest in learning sign language except for those that pertain to eating.

[@danbrownellfuzzy3010]

My 31 year old non vocal autistic cousin just recently developed a short laugh. Hope that gives some encouragement

[@dmckenzie9281]

@@danbrownellfuzzy3010 My son vocalizes often just not words.He is a happy man and laughs often and loud unfortunately we seldom know what is funny.

[@aaron2891]

@@dmckenzie9281 my brother is very similar, but we usually know exactly what he’s laughing about, because he’s an incurable prankster.

[@johannageisel5390]

@@dmckenzie9281 Have you also tried using a soundboard with him? If yes, what was his reaction?

[@jeryuen6563]

As someone who trends upon the spectrum, I have always noticed that people speak a language that they do not seem to know they are speaking. As a new parent, I immediately recognised that my son speaks this language, obviously not having words, that this form of communication is innate. Children know their needs only, and must use what they have on hand to ask. This starts as different cries, then moved towards simple signing. The idea that children do not do what you tell them to, but do what you show them. Baby see, baby do. When most people learn words, they seem to forget the innate language they speak, and words take over. Words have problems because two people can have different meaning for the same word, leading to misinterpretation s of all types. But this body/ape/innate language remains, providing context, but is relegated to subconscious rather than used or observed the way a child or ape would. Words are tricky, all stories are a mix of truths and untruth. How a.story is used is how it tells the truth. No Aesop fable ever hapoened, yet thousands of years later, they still provide timeless truths.

[@gdp3rd]

Erika, I had seen a mention of this paper, and even downloaded the PDF, but had not actually read it yet. Thanks for a fun journal club well outside my own field.

[@AtomikNY]

The other major advantage vocalizations have over gestures is that they work just as well in the dark.

[@richarddeese1991]

Thanks. I can think of two gestures that might (possibly) convey meaning to any other human. 1) Giving them a 'look' and simply walking away, and 2) standing your ground, but turning your back on them. These are so pointedly personal that I can't imagine any adult who wouldn't instantly grasp they were being dismissed in some way. So much so, in fact, that there would be a danger of you getting a rock (or stick, or spear, or arrow, or bullet, or ray-gun blast) in your unprotected rear guard. And, if I worked in a zoo or nature preserve with any apes or monkeys, I'd be careful not to do either of those things deliberately. And, of course, I would strictly avoid greeting rituals with male Bonobos. And no Shake-Weights! ;) tavi.

[@peterbonucci9661]

IMHO, the back turning gesture means "You are so insignificant I turn my back to you." There are some guards in swordfighting that mean, "I dare you!"

[@cielrobinson]

i would just be confused at both tbh and just try to figure out what they might be reacting to

[@richarddeese1991]

@@peterbonucci9661 In "God Emperor of Dune" by Frank Herbert (book 4 of 6), Duncan Idaho turns his back on Leto. Leto notes that it's a 'uniquely human gesture: rejection coupled with admission of vulnerability.' Today, we would get the insult, but most of us wouldn't actually attack under normal circumstances. But in (non-human) nature, animals would be much more likely to either attack or get the heck out of there. tavi.

[@peterbonucci9661]

@@richarddeese1991 I did that while under attack a couple of times. It felt instinctual and sidestepped thought. It took thought to decide it was a tactical weakness, by then the situation had moved on. When I read that in Dune, Leto's response seemed wrong. For me, the gesture meant "the vulnerability is insignificant."

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

It also depends on which Duncan Ghola we're talking about. If he's already aware of his clone nature, he's just resigned to it, and it matters not what he does, Leto can end him on a whim. And he can order another one created, whenever decides to toy with him for his own amusement.

[@greenboy1916]

This is so incredibly cool. I’ve often wondered about how language works and a while ago I read a book that said, basically, our language was just a happy coincidence of a few different evolutionary traits that all came together. When you mentioned those monkeys having syntax, it really clicked for me. You got yourself a follower today. I look forward to learning with you in the future. Keep this kind of content coming please!

[@MirandolinaAmaldin]

Thank you. I love these videos where you're going into research/new findings. So cool

[@hanananah]

I would argue that many humans would still understand "object shake" if it was done by another human while they're making sustained eye contact 😂

[@holdenroberts6973]

This is so true

[@thomasrdiehl]

I have been out of the loop on linguistics for quite a while from when I studied, but this is going to blow some minds. The field has a lot of taboos around non-human communication and this is completely bursting quite a few.

[@76rjackson]

Great observation! The fact that human babies and apes apparently share a common innate gestural lexicon is the most important advance in linguistics since Chomsky discovered that colorless green sheep sleep furiously.

[@catpoke9557]

This is why it's good to consult people from different disciplines. I think there'd be a lot less of a taboo if people in linguistics talked to biologists. I've noticed that if you ask a biologist if language exists in animals, the answer is always a resounding yes. But when you ask someone in linguistics, it's usually a "probably not because..." I really think the biologists are right in this case.

[@thomasrdiehl]

@@catpoke9557 Not quite that easy, because linguistics and biology operate with different definitions of "language", but yeah

[@ChristopherSadlowski]

This was so interesting! I can't imagine the amount of work that went into learning what each gesture means between the chimps and bonobos alone. The researchers must have had to sit there for what seemed like forever just to build that catalog. As always, I learned something new, and that itself is an amazing thing! :D

[@catherinespencer-mills1928]

What I happened to recall was taking Italian and having a native speaker spend some time teaching everyone common gestures. It was a culturally diverse class. Some were obvious to me but not so obvious to others in class. Are there regional differences in gestures among the apes? I thought you implied this with the differences between ape gestures and less related species. Just curious if researchers have explored gestures in more detail.

[@search895]

It would be amazing if gestures were included often in language courses. In American movies we often see gestures that aren't usual or are absent in Spain, for example.

[@masterofthecontinuum]

Of course it would be Italian...🤌

[@Ugg_Son_Of_Thogg]

I READ ABOUT THIS LAST MONTH! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO ILY!

[@AndrianTimeswift]

I'd really love to take this test if it's available somewhere. I'm just really curious about how well I'd do. I'd like to think my knowledge of nonhuman apes is better than average, but at the same time, I'm often pretty bad at interpreting human gestures, so...

[@nasonguy]

There’s some URLs visible in the paper, on screen at 21:36 . Doesn’t look like the actual game though.

[@AndrianTimeswift]

@@nasonguy Yeah, I looked through the paper and found a link to something that looked like it had a version of the test, but the videos were all broken.

[@emilherbert9494]

I think I remember you saying a little bit ago that your videos discussing papers don't get as many views which is a shame because this was such a good breakdown of an academic paper, really shows your skills as a science communicator kudos!

[@rhanak4115]

I've been fascinated by linguistics and communication modes since childhood, and as an adult I've added paleo-anthropology as a growing interest. I am so lucky to have found this video and this channel; thank you for sharing the news in depth! You've earned a sub from me :)

[@seleuf]

5:02 Also being able to communicate without directly looking at each other, being able to communicate while working on something... You can't really have a hand sign conversation with someone knapping rocks.

[@johndemeritt3460]

Try administering this test to young Earth creationists and record the number of heads exploding when you tell them the results.

[@jenm1]

Apes aren’t the only animals with complex communication. In thinking we’re unique, we dismiss the complexities we cannot use in other species.

[@steelcomrade6871]

Imagine going to a zoo and some big Gorilla just waves at you and says "morning" 🤣

[@nitanice]

As a court reporter, I wish I'd studied linguistics. I cannot tell you how something is truly horrible or heated in a hearing or deposition but it's just lost in a flat transcript. There's just no context, the tears, the tone of their voice, the gestures. Just all lost. I do capture what is actually said, but I can't capture the sarcasm, the menace, the plea for mercy -- I can only capture the actual words. There's much more going on.

[@wadehathawaymusic]

Oh Erica, the way you read a research paper...I could listen for hours. Lol. Seriously though, I absolutely love these research based videos. The topic is fascinating, and you have such great skill/talent at breaking things down. Thanks for being the high point of my day!

[@benjones1452]

This is the best kind of science communication, this was such fun to watch. Paper are such a trial to read this is much more assessable and will get the non-expert to enjoy new research.

[@Lawh]

I think language came much earlier than our capabilities for it. It was so important that the better ones at it kept winning out. So basically, communication is the key to humanity.

[@burke615]

Ha! I was on to your trick question as soon as I read the title! I mean, there's even one KZbinr who calls her audience "gentle and, of course, very modern apes," if you can believe that.

[@RobertFHarrison]

That was fascinating. I really enjoyed learning about that study. Mahalo!

[@binkbonkbones3402]

I've never subscribed so fast to a new channel, early anthropology is the most fascinating thing on earth to me so this is the shit

[@tcm4721]

Thank you for not having any commercials through the show.

[@KH-tt3wv]

This is fascinating -- thank you for taking the time to share this with us! As an aside, I think it tracks that the gesture for copulation is not as recognizable to us if this gesture system is one we encounter most frequently in our own species when communicating with infants and small children, in addition to the points you made about how much more species-specific such a gesture would be. I also wonder if the sorts of gestures that were observed in children are more often observed in adults when speaking to small children, as opposed to when they are speaking to other adults with whom they share a spoken language? Like a kind of non-verbal component of "mother-ese."

[@valriedy2176]

I wish I had seen this when you posted it. My Masters thesis was applying the gestural and behavioral actions that Frans de Waal used in examining Bonobo communication to a group of Nasa scientists during a stressful mission specific event. Quite interestingly, though not all that surprisingly, I found that the 'soothing' or 'grooming' behaviors went up during the period of communication black-out.

[@toddcampbell-crow8615]

You can tell you're a parent when your heart starts complete meltdown at "a little hominid that is pretty dang smart and is getting smarter all the time." Thanks for the beautiful phrasing, today's my girl's 4th birthday! :D

[@RichWoods23]

"Can you speak Ape?" Ook.

[@justkeepgoing2657]

Ooker in the dooker

[@Valdagast]

OOOK!

[@PaxofPI]

Eeek!!!!

[@mathphysicsnerd]

Hoomph

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Noam Chomsky probably doesn't like this vid.

[@thirstfast1025]

Awww, no intro? I love your intro music, it gets stuck in my head all the time!

[@NA-vz9ko]

Agreed. That part of “The Mind Electric” is the best. It’s especially cool slowed down and with GG’s awesome animation.

[@13shadowwolf]

The level of complexity in language, is often a prime example of how an entity perceives it's experiences. I would argue that many complex subjects are literally beyond the understanding of some humans, and this becomes more extreme the more the field specializes. Examine two groups, real experts in a field, and quasi-experts. Gutsick Gibbon has an education that cannot be ignored. As opposed to some more... mythological opponents of hers. Gutsick floods us with terminology that connects each individual concept together to form a framework of knowledge that someone whose familiar with the jargon can easily understand. Kent Hovind is an excellent example of purely Gibberishing our stuff that sounds like anything he says, is the first time he's even even thought about that word.

[@grayfox9191]

I recently found out about how human laughter came from a sound our ancestors made to signal that danger has passed and it freaking blew my mind. It made me realize why I always laugh whenever I watch horror movies. Lol.

[@gljames24]

I think the up nod and down nod are pretty universal.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Middle school showed us this super 8 mm doc on how the nod is universal - I wish I could track that down again.

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

I rarely use the 'present genitals' gesture, at least in public.

[@nunyabiznazz2210]

I work outdoors and I involuntarily yell "snake!' when I see one. (while pointing at it). Everybody else does the same. The Spanish speakers say "culebra" tho'.

[@TravelingCitrianSnail]

Well, no surprise there really, as we _are_ chimps. The differences are *so INCREDIBLY tiny,* that we can really view all variations within the past 9, or 8 million years or so, as insignificant changes within the scope of *one* genus. So, _of course_ we shall be able to understand each other's gestures... 🙂

[@biolumess4463]

I'm begging is the quiz from the study still up I want to see how much ape language I know

[@simonmcglary]

When you look at the chimpanzee knuckle greet, how close to a welcome handshake is that? It shows how increased, focused study of the animals around us, we are learning animal communication is more structured than we though, and we so little about the animals we share this planet with!

[@simonmcglary]

This is over 10 years ago and a lot has changed but it demonstrates the importance of research going on at Edinburgh Zoo, where I am a visitor engagement volunteer! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bneXamOZbLxgmK8

[@thescientificmusician3531]

I love your explanations, Erika! You make the theses and concepts in scientific papers readily comprehensible. You're an awesome primate!

[@houmm08]

A really engaging educator. Wonderful video.

[@SoI_Badguy]

I thought the title said "sneak ape" and thought I was going to learn some sick stealthy ape man skills

[@AlbertonBeastmaster]

Fascinating and very well presented. I'm tempted to share this with my undergrad students just to showcase the way you went over the paper and highlighted the pertinent parts.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

I understand that one gesture one should never use on a wild chimpanzee. Don't smile! They interpret it as baring fangs... and a challenge!

[@gullyfoyle3253]

Fascinating! Really. Among your best content in my opinion. Thank-you so much!

[@cerasinopshodgskissi3817]

Erika I am in bed home sick making a brief information packet on paleoanthropology. I want it to cover the major topics briefly as it’s an introduction to human evolution. I have a list of every fossil hominin with when and wear they lived along with their cranial capacity, I have a hominin along with the ape phylogenetic tree, a map of the human migration out of Africa, the adaptations for bipedality, some diagrams of cranial anatomy, and the main traits of hominins. There’s a few things in the packet I didn’t mention here. It’s meant to be a quick resource for students to keep with them to check. I’m trying to thing what else I should include that could be helpful for an introduction to paleoanthropology class, what else should I add?

[@hannajung7512]

as a nonexpert I would think of the history of tool use as far as we can tell would be great, also but maybe to much for the mere introduction, history of fire use, cooking and of burials (or elder care) are maybe interesting, as they are part of important steps to the modern human, that influenced our biology, but also our culture deeply. But that are just the things that I as a lay person would think of, when it comes to information that gives an overview, but may also serve to allready challenge some ideas our society has on what makes us human.

[@cerasinopshodgskissi3817]

@@hannajung7512 That’s funny because I just started a page on the history of early hominin material culture, and am listing the major known tool industries when I read this comment. Those are good ideas. I’ll definitely including the Dmanisi 4 and Shanidar 1 skull as they are two good examples of elder care in our genus. Thank you.

[@danbrownellfuzzy3010]

When students are considering field work, it might be useful to explain that discoveries rarely come falling out of trees, and even less so in this field.

[@cerasinopshodgskissi3817]

@@danbrownellfuzzy3010 That is a very useful thing to include, thank you.

[@joanfregapane8683]

Another fascinating video! Such an interesting topic and so well presented. You are a great teacher!

[@tomf108]

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

5:10 or you can whisper rather than making a gesture - sometimes prey or a predator might not hear or be alerted by a whisper from tens of metres away but would be alerted by movement.

[@dominoot2652]

While watching I was like, this person certainly either should be, is, or wants to be, an educator, and at the end you mentioned students, which confirmed that lol. I think actually that this type of video actually reminds me a lot of what streaming is like, and I was kindof thinking about how interesting this format and type of content would be like streamed live. You could pick a study, video, etc, react to it (or if you wanted to, read/watch it before hand), while you give context to the study ft. whatever knowledge you have, and you can banter with chat, and if a lot of people are asking questions, you could answer them. Chat could also come in with whatever tangential topics they know about, and it could be kindof this really tangential, loosely structured ""class"" where people are learning but it's a lot more like conversation than it is class.

[@jong.8203]

This is super interesting, thanks for making the video!

[@therealxunil2]

How do I say "please don't tear me limb from limb" to other apes?

[@michaeltape8282]

This was a good one. I study ASL and had a conversation last week about humans being a member of the great apes and our origins. Before this guy's young daughter could enunciate speech, he and his wife taught her a few words in ASL. Funny point you bring up regarding hand gestures and animals. If you point at something, a cat might well just stare at the finger you're pointing with...

[@stevenjohnson8552]

This is an astonishinigly great youube channel. Erudite, informative and funny.

[@daviddurham9158]

Fascinating study.

[@DarthCalculus]

Fascinating paper! Thanks for sharing

[@SandraLeeTrahan]

I find this very interesting. I thought about this and wondered about the common sign for "Come here," and it came to me (rightly or wrongly) that it is a "gathering gesture." When you gather things, you literally have to reach out your arms and hands and cup the items and bring them to you, given that it's small objects, i.e. nuts, small fruits on the ground. I love it when I can come across a video I enjoy.

[@j.bippert]

I love the presentation of studies like this. Thank you for the video

[@harrietharlow9929]

You made me consider something that never previously crossed my mind: that when we speak and use various gestures, we are utilising ape language. Of course we are, since we are apes. But I'd just never really considered it. A question arises: since, like us, chimps and bonobos use a repertoire of vocalisations, along with gestures, aren't they proceeding along linguistic path similar to humans? It would seem that humans have retained an ability from earlier on our evolutionary path. It does show how deep our links with our cousins still are.

[@dontworry4945]

Definitely 100%. Our throats and tongues and palette evolved to be more versatile so we could make different noises. But we're still doing the same thing: sending a sonic information packet to our societal collective. The difference is the type and quantity of the information.

[@gornser]

Providing such test to students would give them both hands-on approach to science and insights and appreciation

[@hilliard665]

I knew a bloke who was deaf and never learned to sign and he got his point across pretty well and lip read to understand others

[@ggad1899]

Intriguing content - glad I clicked. You just earned yourself a follow. ... Human babies go through a period when, once they become more physically able with mobility, they drop back on using their verbal abilities. Before, during, and after this phase however, they're very adept at using Sign to communicate. And indeed, if you're a parent, it's great to use ASL/ Sign language(s) with them as they won't have that stressful frustration of having been able to (kinda) communicate with (mama/parentals), then not. Humans start speaking sooner than culturally estimated - I'm pretty sure it's often dismissed as babbling when they're attempting to take inexperienced mouths to form words/word sounds. Both ds and dd had first words at 2.5 months or so, kinda lost verbal around 4 to 7.5 months, then verbal came back. That gap included progressing through the sitting-cruising-walking phases. Interestingly enough, too: Breastfeeding babes do several types of clicks as they are working on word sounds. IMO, clicks are one of the oldest verbal language types/skills we have. I wonder how relational clicking-as-language is, between primates and apes (including great apes).

[@Venaloid]

This is awesome, I loved this video.

[@deadman746]

I grew up in a mixed Cuban/circus neighborhood. From the latter, there were full-sized trapeezes in some yards and a few chimpanzees, so I picked up a few terms. I can do a fair pant-hoot and ground-pound, and I know the thumb in the mouth thing pretty well too.

[@cenedra2143]

This was a nice surprise to come home from work to.. Thank you Erika 😍

[@mattyoung9075]

As a linguistics fan, this is excellent content. And I’d caution anyone who thinks gestures inherently HAVE meaning - consider the body language of wolves, how many non ape gestures would you understand if you hadn’t been taught their meaning? How many Crow gestures do you understand?

[@76rjackson]

Then how do you explain the shared understanding of gestures across species if they don't have innate meaning?

[@oldbushie]

I wonder if piggyback rides are a comfort seeking thing tracing all the way back to ape times. Though as someone else mentioned, some cultures still carry children on their back as a primary means of transport and not just as a play activity.

[@jameswright...]

No! Pig is a mistake in translation a language issue, it comes from pick pack a load carried on the back.

[@captain_cgc2413]

This is fascinating. Thank you!

[@j.lahtinen7525]

This was very interesting! Loved learning about this study, thanks for the great content!

[@Will-kt5jk]

That was really cool. Nicely explored & explained for us no-experts. Would love to see a follow-up vid with some examples of the gestures & vocalisations included.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

"What's the difference between me and a baby" must...resist...urge...to...make...a....joke Again, a wonderful video on something I never even considered!

[@Shadowfate93]

Watching this while nursing my little baby and thinking of all her nonverbal cues.

[@mythic_snake]

I would love to see the video clips used in the study with an explanation of what each gesture means. It would also be very interesting to see video clips of toddlers using the same gestures.

[@WayneBraack]

I am sooooo going to use your trick question on people. Highly interesting video. I remember when they used to say humans retain nothing because behavior isn't passed on when I was young.

[@WetbackNoSetback]

Love this video, i think it makes sense that we understand all animals we just got to pay attention

[@lawrence5117]

Intriguing stuff. I found this very interesting Thanks

[@trifonTAF]

A more general and obvious advantage of speech VS gestures is communication without the need to look at the person talking. So you can focus you sight on something else instead and keep doing other tasks like gathering berries or walking without treading on branches. Or like you said, looking at prey if you're hunting

[@mrapistevist]

Interesting and educational, as usual. 👍👍😊

[@THarSul]

Lol, I’d like to take their tests, its fascinating to think about the fact that we might all be secretly fluent in a language we didn’t realize we knew how to speak.

[@joshualeroy8]

I loved this video! Would also love to see some of the papers referenced in this article

[@DJTheTrainmanWalker]

The Librarian springs immediately to mind. Particularly the many and varied meanings of.... Ook

[@AndrianTimeswift]

Ooook.

[@DJTheTrainmanWalker]

@@AndrianTimeswift I'm shocked you would use such language... : -)

[@josephrodriguez2780]

Just the basics. don't swing your arms. Don't bear teeth. Don't act aggressive And if the guerrillas pissed-off look to the ground and look as pitifull as possible.

[@stevenbruffaerts3811]

I love your content, keep it comming!

[@Tedtally]

Dear Gutsick: Thanks. Made me interested in something other than misanthropy and contemplating how they get the bottom of the inside of a glass so smooth for the first time in a while. When able, I would love to support your Patreon. Asking is a great idea--anecdotally, I loved that I was asked and given the respect of being asked to contribute, as if I'm some kind of gentle, modern ape with some agency. 🤣 Thanks again, look forward to whatever comes next!

[@lapislazarus8899]

The thumbnail reminds me of a pic my ex-husband took at the zoo. A chimpanzee was sitting up at the glass, and had her palm pressed against it. I leaned in close to study the lines and details, and when he took the pic, my reflection on the glass was centered right in her hand. It was on his digital camera, and idk if he uploaded it anywhere. It didn't get posted on any of his social media. We had a bad break-up and he passed away in 2021. It was such a neat image. Altogether a shame.