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Time-space-displaced responses in the orangutan vocal system

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Lameira, Adriano R. and Call, Josep (2018) Time-space-displaced responses in the orangutan vocal system. Science Advances, 4 (11). eaau3401. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aau3401 ISSN 2375-2548.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau3401

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Abstract

One of the defining features of language is displaced reference—the capacity to transmit information about something that is not present or about a past or future event. It is very rare in nature and has not been shown in any nonhuman primate, confounding, as such, any understanding of its precursors and evolution in the human lineage. Here, we describe a vocal phenomenon in a wild great ape with unparalleled affinities with displaced reference. When exposed to predator models, Sumatran orangutan mothers temporarily suppressed alarm calls up to 20 min until the model was out of sight. Subjects delayed their vocal responses in function of perceived danger for themselves, but four major predictions for stress-based mechanisms were not met. Conversely, vocal delay was also a function of perceived danger for another—an infant—suggesting high-order cognition. Our findings suggest that displaced reference in language is likely to have originally piggybacked on akin behaviors in an ancestral hominid.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Q Science > Q Science (General)
Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Mammals -- Vocalization, Primates -- Behavior, Sumatran orangutan -- Behavior, Animal communication, Animal intelligence
Journal or Publication Title: Science Advances
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
ISSN: 2375-2548
Official Date: 2 November 2018
Dates:
DateEvent
2 November 2018Published
18 October 2018Accepted
Volume: 4
Number: 11
Article Number: eaau3401
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3401
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit: 18 October 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access: 18 October 2019
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
702137Horizon 2020 Framework Programmehttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010661
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