Thousands of chimp vocal recordings in West Africa reveal a hidden language we never knew about.
In a new study, researchers analyzed almost 5,000 recordings of wild adult chimpanzee calls in the Ivory Coast. After examining the structure of the calls, they found 390 unique vocal sequences.
These are like different kinds of sentences, assembled from combinations of call types, like grunts, pants, hoos, barks, screams, and whimpers.
The findings of the research highlight a vocal communication system in chimpanzees that is much more complex and structured than previously thought. The team’s next goal is to record even larger datasets of chimpanzee calls. Through further study, the researchers expect to bring fresh insight into understanding where we humans come from and how our unique language evolved.
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