Gestural Communication in Nonhuman and Human Primates: (10 Benjamins Current Topics)

Research into gestures represents a multifaceted field comprising a wide range of disciplines and research topics, varying methods and approaches, and even different species such as humans, apes and monkeys. The aim of this volume (originally published as a Special Issue of Gesture 5:1/2 (2005)) is to bring together the research in gestural communication in both nonhuman and human primates and to explore the potential of a comparative approach and its contribution to the question of an evolutionary scenario in which gestures play a significant role. The topics covered include the spontaneous natural gesture use in social groups of apes and monkeys, but also during interactions with humans, gestures of preverbal children and their interaction with language, speech-accompanying gestures in humans as well as the use of sign-language in human and nonhuman great apes. It addresses researchers with a background in Psychology, Primatology, Linguistics, and Anthropology, but it might also function as an introduction and a documentation state of the art for a wider less specialised audience which is fascinated by the role gestures might have played in the evolution of human language.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Gestural communication in nonhuman and human primates (by Liebal, Katja), p1-4; 2. Articles; 3. The syntactic motor system (by Roy, Alice C.), p5-32; 4. Gestural communication in nonhuman primates; 5. The gestural communication of apes (by Pika, Simone), p35-49; 6. Gestural communication in three species of macaques (Macaca mulatta, M. nemestrina, M. arctoides): Use of signals in relation to dominance and social context (by Maestripieri, Dario), p51-66; 7. Multimodal concomitants of manual gesture by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Influence of food size and distance (by Leavens, David A.), p67-80; 8. Requesting gestures in captive monkeys and apes: Conditioned responses or referential behaviours? (by Gomez, Juan-Carlos), p81-94; 9. Cross-fostered chimpanzees modulate signs of American Sign Language (by Chalcraft, Valerie J.), p95-117; 10. Gestural communication in human primates; 11. Human twelve-month-olds point cooperatively to share interest with and helpfully provide information for a communicative partner (by Liszkowski, Ulf), p121-138; 12. From action to language through gesture: A longitudinal perspective (by Capirci, Olga), p139-159; 13. The link and differences between deixis and symbols in children's early gestural-vocal system (by Antinoro Pizzuto, Elena), p161-179; 14. A cross-cultural comparison of communicative gestures in human infants during the transition to language (by Blake, Joanna), p181-195; 15. How does linguistic framing of events influence co-speech gestures?: Insights from crosslinguistic variations and similarities (by Ozyurek, Asli), p197-216; 16. The two faces of gesture: Language and thought (by Goldin-Meadow, Susan), p217-231; 17. Gestures in human and nonhuman primates: Why we need a comparative view (by Muller, Cornelia), p233-256; 18. Book Review; 19. Michael C. Corballis (2002). From hand to mouth. The origins of language (by Copple, Mary M.), p257-275

Review :
The book does not in and off itself support the view that language has its origins in gesture or in the motor system. However, it gives a highly interesting and detailed panorama of current research on communicative gestures and is thus an important contribution to the debate. Additionally, the comparative perspective is interesting in its own right, as is each individual paper. So this is a book well worth reading! What makes this contribution valuable is the multidisciplinary approach with a diverse range of information provided within the same cover. The text is highly readable and most topics are presented in such a way to be easily understood. Even though this book covers a rather specialised topic it is however pertinent to anyone with interest in the origin of human language.