The presence of divergent and independent research traditions in the gestural and vocal
domains of primate communication has resulted in major discrepancies in the definition and …

This chapter is set against the background of one of the most important pragmatic models of
language: the ostensive-inferential model advanced by Sperber and Wilson (1986) with …

Human expression is open-ended, versatile, and diverse, ranging from ordinary language
use to painting, from exaggerated displays of affection to micro-movements that aid …

Current methodologies present significant hurdles to understanding patterns in the gestural
communication of individuals, populations, and species. To address this issue, we present a …

When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is
nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into …

Apes, human's closest living relatives, are renowned for their intentional and highly flexible
use of gestural communication. In stark contrast, evidence for flexible and intentional …

Humans possess a perhaps unique type of culture among primates called cumulative
culture. In this type of culture, behavioural forms cumulate changes over time, which …

How did human language evolve from earlier forms of communication? One way to address
this question is to compare prelinguistic human vocal behavior with nonhuman primate calls …

Comparative psychology provides important contributions to our understanding of the
origins of human language. The presence of common features in human and nonhuman …

The evolution of human language is a topic that has received undiminished attention.
Numerous hypotheses for the origin of human language have been proposed, including …