Into the mind of the forgotten ape: bonobo behaviour and the evolution of language

This talk from Dr. Zanna Clay was held at Dundee Science Centre on Wednesday 11th April 2012 at 6pm.

Despite being one of our closest living relatives, bonobos are still one of the least well understood of the great apes, largely remaining in the shadow of their better known cousins, the chimpanzees. For this reason, many people have ignored the contribution bonobos make to our understanding of human evolution and the roots of our behaviour and communication.

Nevertheless, bonobos show a striking array of behaviours that demand more attention,  including  enhanced female dominance, reduced aggression, complex communication and the use of socio-sexual interactions to make friends, alleviates tension and reconcile conflicts.  This event explored the social lives of our ape cousins, the bonobos; learnt how they communicate and deciphered what lessons we can learn about our own evolution.

This engaging talk can be viewed in full on our YouTube page, which can be reached by clicking on the video below.