Humans are adept combiners. As it turns out, so, too, are bonobos. According to a new study in Science, bonobos can combine their calls a lot like humans can, indicating that a hallmark of human communication — an ability called compositionality — is just as much a hallmark of the communication of our closest relatives.
“Since humans and bonobos had a common ancestor approximately 7 to 13 million years ago, they share many traits by descent,” said Martin Surbeck, a study author and an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, according to a press release. “It appears that compositionality is likely one of them.”
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