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Letter

Sound-induced motion in chimpanzees does not imply shared ancestry for music or dance

Mila Bertolo, View ORCID ProfileManvir Singh, and View ORCID ProfileSamuel A. Mehr
  1. aDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
  2. bDepartment of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
  3. cInstitute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), 31080 Toulouse Cedex 6, France;
  4. dData Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
  5. eSchool of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand

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PNAS January 12, 2021 118 (2) e2015664118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2015664118
Mila Bertolo
aDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
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  • For correspondence: sam@wjh.harvard.edu mila_bertolo@g.harvard.edu
Manvir Singh
bDepartment of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
cInstitute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), 31080 Toulouse Cedex 6, France;
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Samuel A. Mehr
aDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
dData Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
eSchool of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand
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  • ORCID record for Samuel A. Mehr
  • For correspondence: sam@wjh.harvard.edu mila_bertolo@g.harvard.edu
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Hattori and Tomonaga (1) report that seven captive chimpanzees moved in response to piano sounds, more so than in silence. On this basis, they argue, “some biological foundation for dancing existed in the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees ∼6 million years ago.”

Music's universality suggests it has deep phylogenetic roots (2). Understanding music-like behavior in nonhuman animals is therefore valuable for understanding the evolution of music (3). But such a claim of shared ancestry for music or dance is unjustified, for three reasons.

First, the effects were heterogenous across a small sample (1). The most active chimpanzee (Akira) moved more than 50 times longer than the least active chimpanzee. Such dramatic variability …

↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: sam{at}wjh.harvard.edu or mila_bertolo{at}g.harvard.edu.

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References

  1. ↵
    1. Y. Hattori,
    2. M. Tomonaga
    , Rhythmic swaying induced by sound in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 936–942 (2020).
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. ↵
    1. S. A. Mehr et al
    ., Universality and diversity in human song. Science 366, 957–970 (2019).
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
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    1. S. A. Mehr,
    2. M. M. Krasnow,
    3. G. A. Bryant,
    4. E. H. Hagen
    , Origins of music in credible signaling. Behav. Brain Sci., doi:10.1017/S0140525X20000345 (2020).
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    1. H. Honing,
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    , Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) sense isochrony in rhythm, but not the beat: Additional support for the gradual audiomotor evolution hypothesis. Front. Neurosci. 12, 475 (2018).
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    1. M. Wilson,
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    , Rhythmic entrainment: Why humans want to, fireflies can’t help it, pet birds try, and sea lions have to be bribed. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 23, 1647–1659 (2016).
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    1. G. Berkson,
    2. W. A. Mason
    , Stereotyped behaviors of chimpanzees: Relation to general arousal and alternative activities. Percept. Mot. Skills 19, 635–662 (1964).
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  7. ↵
    1. S. M. Cheyne
    , Unusual behaviour of captive-raised gibbons: Implications for welfare. Primates 47, 322–326 (2006).
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  8. ↵
    1. J. Crast,
    2. M. Bloomsmith,
    3. J. Perlman,
    4. T. Meeker,
    5. C. Remillard
    , Abnormal behaviour in captive sooty mangabeys. Anim. Welf. 23, 167–177 (2014).
    OpenUrl
  9. ↵
    1. J. McDermott,
    2. M. D. Hauser
    , Are consonant intervals music to their ears? Spontaneous acoustic preferences in a nonhuman primate. Cognition 94, B11–B21 (2004).
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  10. ↵
    1. J. McDermott,
    2. M. D. Hauser
    , Nonhuman primates prefer slow tempos but dislike music overall. Cognition 104, 654–668 (2007).
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed

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Sound-induced motion in chimpanzees does not imply shared ancestry for music or dance
Mila Bertolo, Manvir Singh, Samuel A. Mehr
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2021, 118 (2) e2015664118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015664118

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Sound-induced motion in chimpanzees does not imply shared ancestry for music or dance
Mila Bertolo, Manvir Singh, Samuel A. Mehr
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2021, 118 (2) e2015664118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015664118
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This Letter has a Reply and related content. Please see:

  • Rhythmic swaying induced by sound in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) - December 23, 2019
  • Relationship between Letter and Reply - December 22, 2020
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