Dec 04 2008
Shake Hands with that Gorilla
In research that could have implications for our understanding the evolution of human language . . .
Psychologist Dr Gillian Sebestyen Forrester developed a new method of analysing the behaviour of gorillas in captivity and found there was a right-handed bias for actions that also involved head and mouth movements.
Although the “other primates” do not use language as humans do, they do communicate with one another: they send signals via arm movements, facial expressions, posture, vocalizations, etc. How did these types of signals evolve into a full-blow language? Fascinating topic.
The ScienceDaily post also echoed information I had encountered before.
Previous studies by other researchers have found that chimpanzees show a right-handed preference for manual tasks.
This means that if you ever meet a gorilla or chimpanzee in the forest, when you go to shake hands there won’t be confusion as to which to extend.
[...] one year ago to the day I made a post about research into the “handedness” of gorillas: Shake Hands with that Gorilla. That primate species, it seems, has a preference for using its right arm/hand. New research [...]