Page 1
8/6/2019 Primate Laughter Advanced
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/primate-laughter-advanced 1/5
Page 2
8/6/2019 Primate Laughter Advanced
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/primate-laughter-advanced 2/5 NEWS LESSONS / Primates have been laughing for 10m years / Advanced
• P H
O T O
C O P I
A B L E
•
C A N B E
D O W
N L O A D E
D
F R O M
W E B S I T E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
Our primate ancestors have beenlaughing for 10 million years
A study that involved tickling apes suggests
laughter is not a uniquely human trait after all
Ian Sample, science correspondent
4 June, 2009
Thersthootsoflaughterfromanancient
ancestor of humans rippled across the land at
least 10 million years ago, according to a study
of giggling primates.
Researchers used recordings of apes and babies
being tickled to trace the origins of laughter back
to the last common ancestor that humans shared
with the modern great apes, which include
chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans.
Thendingchallengestheviewthatlaughteris
a uniquely human trait, suggesting instead that
it emerged long before humans split from the
evolutionary path that led to our primate cousins,
between 10m and 16m years ago.
“In humans, laughing is a complex and
intriguing expression. It can be the strongest
way of expressing how much we are enjoying
ourselves, but it can also be used in other
contexts, like mocking,” said Marina Davila Ross,
a psychologist at Portsmouth University. “I was
interested in whether laughing had a pre-human
basis, whether it emerged earlier on than we did.”
Davila Ross travelled to seven zoos around
Europe and visited a wildlife reserve in Sabah,
Borneo, to record baby and juvenile apes while
their caretakers tickled them. Great apes are
known to make noises that are similar to laughter
when they are excited and while they are playing
with each other.
“The caretakers play with the apes all the time
and tickling is a very important part of that. There
are certain body parts that are more ticklish than
others, depending on the individual. Some were
tickled on their necks or armpits, while others
offered their feet to be tickled,” said Davila Ross.
In total, Davila Ross collected recordings of
mirth from 21 chimps, gorillas, orang-utans and
bonobos and added recordings of three babies
that were tickled to make them laugh.
To analyze the recordings, the team fed them into
a computer program that arranged them on an
“evolutionary tree” based on how related to each
other they seemed to be. Remarkably,
the laughter recorded from different primates
linked together in a way that matched the
evolutionary tree linking all of the species to one
common ancestor.
“Our evolutionary tree based on these acoustic
recordings alone showed that humans were
closest to chimps and bonobos, but furthest
from orang-utans, with gorillas somewhere
intermediate. And that is what you see in the
well-established evolutionary tree of great apes,”
said Davila Ross. “What this shows is strong
evidence to suggest that laughing comes from a
common primate ancestor.”
Writing in the journal Current Biology , the
researchers describe how the earliest laughter-
like sounds were shorter and noisier, but with
time became longer and clearer as the great
apes evolved.
Human laughter sounds very different from the
noises produced by great apes. The differences
are thought to have arisen when certain acoustic
features became exaggerated in early humans
after they split from ancestors they shared with
chimps and bonobos around 5.5m years ago.
Humans laugh as they exhale, but chimps can
laugh as they breathe in as well. The human
laugh is also produced by more regular vibrations
of the vocal cords than in any of the apes.
Few studies have been carried out into the role
of laughter in primates, but at least one study
has suggested that it is important in expressing
excitement and arousal. Laughing might also
have been important for bonding within groups
of animals.
Robert Provine, a psychologist and neuroscientist
at the University of Maryland and author of the
book Laughter: A Scientifc Investigation, said
students who took part in his own studies likened
Primates have been laughing for 10m years
Level 3 Advanced
1
2
3
4
8
9
10
12
7
5
6
11
13
14
Page 3
8/6/2019 Primate Laughter Advanced
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/primate-laughter-advanced 3/5 NEWS LESSONS / Primates have been laughing for 10m years / Advanced
• P H
O T O
C O P I
A B L E
•
C A N B E
D O W
N L O A D E
D
F R O M
W E B S I T E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
Primates have been laughing for 10m years
Level 3 Advanced
chimp “laughter” to a dog panting, an asthma
attack or hyperventilation. Some even thought
the noise was caused by someone sawing.
“The means of production of human and ape
laughter are as different as the sound, with the
ape vocalization being produced during both
inward and outward breaths, while humans
parseanoutwardbreathinto‘ha-ha’,”hesaid.
“The simplicity and stereotypy of laughter
provides a valuable tool with which to trace
vocal evolution, much as simpler systems of
molecular biology are useful for investigating
complex life processes,” he added.
In March 2009, researchers reported that
a chimp at a zoo in Sweden had started to
challengescientists’viewsabouttheunique
nature of human behaviour. The 31-year-old
male, Santino, regularly displayed thuggish
behaviour by preparing piles of rocks while
the zoo was closed and then throwing them at
visitors when the gates opened. The chimp has
since been castrated.
Zookeepers at the Smithsonian National Zoo
in Washington DC have reported another
human trait in one of its long-time residents,
Bonnie, a 30-year-old orang-utan. Researchers
believe Bonnie learned to whistle by copyingthe zookeepers. Although she is unable to hold
a tune, other apes at the zoo have reportedly
begun copying her.
© Guardian News & Media 2009
First published in The Guardian, 04/06/09
15
Comprehension check3
1. According to the results of the study ...
a. … apes are extremely ticklish.
b. … laughter is not only a human characteristic.
c. … apes should not be kept in a zoo.
2. Humans laugh ...
a. … without using their vocal chords.
b. … when they breathe out.
c. … when they hyperventilate.
3. Apes laugh ...
a. … in the same way that dogs pant.
b. … when they are happy.
c. … when they are excited.
4. The apes recorded for the study live ...
a. … at Portsmouth University.
b. … in the jungle.
c. … in captivity.
5. How many apes were recorded laughing?
a. 21
b. 24
c. 23
6. The researcher at Portsmouth University is ...
a. … a neuroscientist.
b. … a zookeeper.
c. … a psychologist.
18
17
16
Choose the correct answer according to the information in the article.
Page 4
8/6/2019 Primate Laughter Advanced
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/primate-laughter-advanced 4/5 NEWS LESSONS / Primates have been laughing for 10m years / Advanced
• P H
O T O
C O P I
A B L E
•
C A N B E
D O W
N L O A D E
D
F R O M
W E B S I T E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
Primates have been laughing for 10m years
Level 3 Advanced
Match the halves of the phrases then check your answers by nding them in the article. Notice in which
context they were used and then write your own example sentences for at least four of the phrases.
Language: Phrases4
Discussion: What’s your opinion?5
Read the four statements and mark your opinion by placing a cross on each line. Be prepared to justify and
talk about your opinions in a follow-up discussion.
1. Weshouldnottryto‘humanize’animalsbysearchingforhumantraitsintheirbehaviour.
2. Great apes should not be kept in zoos.
3. The money used to fund this study would have been better spent on medical research.
4. Apesare‘cleverer’thanwecurrentlyrealize.
1. to hold tool
2. a hoot of production
3. a valuable human trait
4. a uniquely path
5. an evolutionary behaviour
6. a common a tune
7. a means of laughter
8. to display thuggish ancestor
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
strongly agree not sure strongly disagree
strongly agree not sure strongly disagree
strongly agree not sure strongly disagree
strongly agree not sure strongly disagree
Webquest: Laughter recordings6
Listen to the laughter recordings here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jun/04/laughter-primates-apes-evolution-tickling
• Closeyoureyeswhileyoulistenthentrytodescribethesoundyouhavejustheard.
• WatchtheshortvideothatcanbefoundatthesameURL.Describewhatyoucanseeandhear.
Page 5
8/6/2019 Primate Laughter Advanced
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/primate-laughter-advanced 5/5 NEWS LESSONS / Primates have been laughing for 10m years / Advanced
• P H
O T O
C O P I
A B L E
•
C A N B E
D O W
N L O A D E
D
F R O M
W E B S I T E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
Primates have been laughing for 10m years
Level 3 Advanced
2 Key words
1. c
2. f
3. h
4. g
5. n
6. m
7. l8. b
9. j
10. k
11. a
12. e
13. o
14. i
15. d
3 Comprehension check
1. b
2. b
3. c
4. c
5. a
6. c
4 Language: Phrases
1. to hold a tune
2. a hoot of laughter
3. a valuable tool
4. a uniquely human trait
5. an evolutionary path
6. a common ancestor
7. a means of production8. to display thuggish behaviour
Teacher’s notes
You can read the other two ape stories mentioned in the
article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/mar/09/chimp-
zoo-stones-science
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2009/1/
BrainyBonnie.cfm
And here you can watch a short video report about
an orang-utan who escaped from her cage in an
Australian zoo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4bwp90dOTU
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/10/adelaide-
zoo-orang-utan-escape
KEY