Cartridge Monkey

New research may give insight into the evolution of human communication

Wednesday 28 March, 2007

Researchers have started to conduct experiments into the facial communications of chimpanzees.

Lisa Parr, the director of Yerkes National Primate Research Centre in Atlanta, is conducting a study using a software programme known as ChimpsFACS to examine the nuances of these primate's facial expressions, reports Reuters.

"Until now, little research has been done on understanding how chimpanzees communicate through facial expressions," said Ms Parr, at a conference on chimpanzee cognition at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

"There could be a whole realm of chimp communication we don't have the capability of understanding," she added.

Indeed, according to Ms Parr, just as human expressions can be hard to determine because of the use of similar facial muscles, the same is true of our relatives, the chimpanzee.

According to scientists, chimpanzees - with a genetic code that is 1.23 per cent different from our own - are the closest relatives to humans, in evolutionary terms.

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New research may give insight into the evolution of human communication

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