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FOSSILS ET AL.
Bonobos Talk Like Us? A New Study Says It’s Not That Far Off
Their chatter isn’t just noise — it might hold clues to the origins of human language
I used to think I’d grow up and live in the jungle with apes.
Not metaphorically — I imagined mornings spent quietly tracking primates through the underbrush, afternoons logging vocalizations in sun-dappled notebooks, and nights listening to pant-hoots echo through the trees.
I didn’t become a primatologist, but I’ve spent the better part of my life studying how life evolves and adapts, from ancient ecosystems to modern conservation strategies. Still, whenever new research comes out about great apes such as gorillas, bonobos, or chimps, it feels like that dream taps me on the shoulder.
That’s probably why published in stopped me mid-scroll. The headline?
Bonobos Combine Calls in Ways Strikingly Similar to Human Language.
It’s the kind of study that brings together everything I’ve spent my career trying to understand: how complex behaviors evolve, how communication systems change over time, and how much of our humanity might actually be rooted in something far more ancient.
