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Humans and Great Apes Giggle With a Similar Rhythm and Timing, Suggesting We Have Shared Our Style of Laughter for 15 Million Years
Key takeaways
- Researchers have found that our closest relatives, apes, also laugh, and do it with a similar rhythm and timing as people.
- The study, published on June 25 in the journal Communications Biology, sheds light on the evolution of laughter and speech.
- The team compared the recorded laughter of four human children and 13 captive young apes across different species—two gorillas, four orangutans, four chimpanzees and three bonobos.
Researchers have found that our closest relatives, apes, also laugh, and do it with a similar rhythm and timing as people.
The study, published on June 25 in the journal Communications Biology, sheds light on the evolution of laughter and speech.
The team compared the recorded laughter of four human children and 13 captive young apes across different species—two gorillas, four orangutans, four chimpanzees and three bonobos. Overall, 140 recordings were taken during regular play and tickling.
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