Chimpanzees use their hands to say “follow me,” “stop that” or “take this,” according to new research seeking to translate their sophisticated messages.
Previous research revealed that humans’ nearest genetic relatives use gestures to communicate, prompting questions over whether the communication systems shared ancestry with human language.
The new study, published on Thursday in the US journal Current Biology, created the first-ever chimpanzee dictionary of sorts, deciphering just what the apes were saying to each other.
The researchers said the chimpanzee gestures — they decoded 66 — can be used in isolation or several can be strung together to create more complex exchanges.
And, importantly, the meaning remained consistent, regardless of which ape was making the gestures.
The messages ranged from “simple requests associated with just a few gestures, to broader social negotiation associated with a wider range of gesture types,” the authors from the University of St Andrews in Scotland said.
The researchers studied more than 4,500 gestures within more than 3,400 interactions, all captured on film in Uganda between 2007 and 2009.
They determined that when a mother shows the sole of her foot to her baby, she means “climb on me.” Touching the arm of another means “scratch me” and chewing leaves calls for sexual attention.
The researchers said their observations revealed unambiguous links between some gestures and outcomes — like the seductive message of leaf-chewing. Others seemed to convey more than one idea, like grasping another chimp, which sometimes seemed to indicate “stop,” and other times “climb on me” or even “go away.”
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
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ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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