(ANSA) – ROME, 02 SEPTEMBER – Some types of monkeys can communicate with each other by calling each other by name, showing that they have a specific cognitive ability identified until now only in humans, dolphins and elephants. The discovery comes from a new study published in the journal Science, which highlights the complexity of social communication in this species and may also provide valuable information on the evolution of human language.
The ability to name others is a highly advanced cognitive skill that has not been found in our closest evolutionary relatives, non-human primates, who seemed to lack this ability entirely. A team of researchers from the Safra Center for Brain Sciences at the Hebrew University has discovered that pygmy marmosets use specific calls, called “phee calls,” to name each other, to identify themselves, and to communicate with each other.
To find out, researchers led by David Omer and Guy Oren recorded natural conversations between pairs of monkeys, observing that they used “phee-calls” to address specific individuals, and that they could also distinguish when a call was directed at them, responding more accurately when it was. The researchers believe that this vocal labeling may have evolved to help marmosets stay connected in their dense rainforest habitat, where visibility is often limited. By using these calls, they can maintain their social bonds and keep their group cohesive.
Pygmy marmosets live in small, monogamous family groups and care for their young together, much like humans do. Their ability to label each other suggests that they have developed complex brain mechanisms, potentially analogous to those that eventually gave rise to language in humans. “These similarities suggest that they faced similar evolutionary social challenges to our early ancestors, which may have led them to develop similar methods of communication,” Omer concludes. (ANSA).
2024-09-03 00:08:40