Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Friday, 7 August 2009
Orang-utans Use Tools To Deceptively Communicate
Here a group of primatologists, including Carel Van Schaik, report that orang-utans use strips of leaves, placed over their mouths, to modulate the kiss squeaks they emit when in distress. The leaves drive down the frequency of the kiss squeak to give the impression that the sound is being made by a larger animal than is the case. If all this stands up to further scrutiny it will be first evidence of tool use linked to a form of communication in which deliberate deception is involved.
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