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Reevaluating Chimpanzee Vocal Signals: Toward a Multimodal Account of the Origins of Human Communication

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The Evolution of Social Communication in Primates

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Evolution Research ((IDER,volume 1))

Abstract

The vocalizations of chimpanzees have long been thought to be largely genetically predetermined and therefore unlearnable, involuntarily produced, and broadcast indiscriminately. Tomasello (2008) has recently written that, while chimpanzee vocalizations share these constraints and limitations with the vocal displays of all other non-human animals, the attention-getting gestures of chimpanzees are an “evolutionary novelty” because they are, in his estimation, capable of being produced intentionally. As such, chimpanzee gestures are highly significant to discussions of animal cognition and the evolution of human communication. This chapter challenges Tomasello’s grounds for restricting this evolutionary novelty to the gestural modality. I argue that, in fact, recent evidence suggests that there is a significant functional difference between certain chimpanzee vocalizations and the vocal displays of other animals and that, based on Tomasello’s own criteria for intentionality, gestures do not appear to have a monopoly on intentional communication in chimpanzees. Ultimately, this chapter aims to provide grounds for a multimodal account of the evolution of human communication. I conclude by suggesting that although there is reason to doubt that chimpanzees can communicate intentionally, there is no more reason to doubt this ability in the vocal modality than there is in the gestural modality.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Since Premack and Woodruff’s original discussion, “theory of mind” has been used to describe and/or explain an extensive range of phenomena. In the interest of clarity, I purport here to use the term exactly as Tomasello (2008) does in its relationship to what he calls “intentional signals.” For a discussion of Tomasello’s understanding of theory of mind and its significance to intentional signals see Sect. 2 below.

  2. 2.

    Note that I am referring here to what are commonly referred to as “extended food grunts” and not “raspberry” sounds since only the former employ the vocal chords. Though raspberry sounds have never been observed in the wild and serve the same AG-function as novel grunts, they involve only a pursing of the lips. The appropriate place of whistles and lip-smacks in discussions of the evolution of human communication is certainly interesting yet remains beyond the scope of this chapter.

  3. 3.

    See Flombaum and Santos (2005) for evidence suggesting that rhesus macaques can be sensitive to the attention of others and engage in practical reasoning about others’ perspectives. Further, Wich and de Vries (2006) offer evidence that Thomas langur monkeys possess the capacity for goal-directed vocal production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Adam See

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Correspondence to Adam See .

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  1. Centre for Philosophy of Science, University of Lisbon AppEEL, Lisbon, Portugal

    Marco Pina

  2. Centre for Philosophy of Science, University of Lisbon AppEEL, Lisbon, Portugal

    Nathalie Gontier

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See, A. (2014). Reevaluating Chimpanzee Vocal Signals: Toward a Multimodal Account of the Origins of Human Communication . In: Pina, M., Gontier, N. (eds) The Evolution of Social Communication in Primates. Interdisciplinary Evolution Research, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02669-5_11

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