Could Chimp Laughter be further?evidence of Human Evolution?
Anyone familiar with?chimp behavior are aware of?their complex human-like behaviors and adaptive skill. It’s?no secret to evolutionary biologists and geneticists?that humans and chimps share a common ancestor. Recent evidence on the facial expressions of chimps once again reveal our humble origins.
PLOS ONE (2015) – Researchers in the UK analyzed various data points in the facial expressions?of African chimps while they were alone and while in social relationships. They noticed that they overlay quite well with human?silent expressions and what we’d view as ‘laugh faces’.
The study concludes that laughter (the laugh faces) reinforced playful?social?relationships among its members and that silent facial movements appeared to convey nonverbal messages as well. Though there are similarities, humans appear to?have many?more vocal and silent facial expressions which communicate messages in even more complex ways. It’s hypothesized that chimps gathered this?flexibility in facial movement from an earlier ancestor that we humans also share.
Researchers hope that future studies will be conducted to track the evolutionary history?of these facial movements by looking at the other great apes and primates. Seeing commonalities in usage and structure among our close cousins helps to create a family tree of facial ability so-to-speak.
Why is This Important?
Seeing such facial expressions?in our ape cousins may mean that laughter and other complex facial expressions?may have been positively selected for as it may have?aided in the evolution of forming complex social bonds.
Laughter it appears, may be hardwired in helping to bring us?closer together. 🙂
