Editor's Choice Collection
Our paper "Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) exploit tortoises (Kinixys erosa) via percussive technology" published in Scientific Reports has been chosen to be included in the Editors's Choice Collection on Animal cognition and personality! Learn more
Interview with Simone Pika
Social distancing in the Corona crisis leads to a change in human interaction and social relationships. A related interview with Simone Pika about "shaking hands" can be found in the linked Eldoradio podcast and on Spotify.
Welcome!
We welcome Charlotte Bright and Bas van Boekholt to the CBC!
We are hiring!
The Comparative Biocognition Research Group invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral-fellow position to investigate the development of turn-taking in infancy. The research is funded by the European Research Council. Please follow this link to learn more: pdf
New Research Grant
Congratulations to Harmonie Klein, who got a research grant from the Leakey Foundation to study cooperation in chimpanzees of our Rekambo group (Loango Chimpanzee Project, Gabon) shown during hunting and food sharing. Cooperation with Tobias Deschner from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Grantee Spotlight: A very interesting interview with Harmonie can be found here.
Newest publications
May 2020
Boesch, C. et al. (2020). Chimpanzee ethnography reveals unexpected cultural diversity. pdf
Prieur, J., Pika, S. (2020). Gorillas’ (Gorilla g. gorilla) knowledge of conspecifics’ affordances: Intraspecific social tool use for food acquisition. pdf
Fröhlich, M., Müller G., Zeiträg, C., Wittig, M., Pika, S. (2020). Begging and social tolerance: Food solicitation tactics in young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the wild. pdf
Future events
14th of April 2020
Due to the Covid-19 virus, the conference "Evolution of Language" in Brussels and its workshops had to be cancelled.
First workshop on comparative turn-taking: "Taking turns: A new approach to language origins" at the XIII Evolution of Language Conference in Brussels
List of invited speakers:
Coleman, M. & Fortune, E. S. "Exchange of information between female and male wrens in duet performances", Claremont McKenna College/New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.
Enfield, N. "An emergence account of linguistic turn-taking?", University of Sydney, Australia.
Levrero, F. & Lemasson, A. “Rule-governed call exchanges in captive gorillas: observational and experimental approach", University J. Monnet, France / University of Rennes, France.
Okanoya, K. “Turn taking in rodents, macaques, and birds and its relation with behavioral synchronization", Tokyo University, Japan.
Pepperberg, I. “Parrot-human vocal interactions: Turn-taking dialogues and one instance of 'repair'”, Harvard University, USA.
Rossano, F. “Turn-taking types, their cognitive requirements and a few neglected variables”, University of California, USA.
Snowdon, C. “Turn-taking and reproductive success”, University of Wisconsin, USA.
de Vos, C. “Turn timing is stable across signed and spoken languages”, Radboud University, the Netherlands.
September 2019
Simone gave a talk at the 12th International Symposium on Primatology and Wildlife Science in Inuyama (Japan) and had the chance to visit one of the best-constructed enclosures of chimpanzees in the world and meet the famous chimpanzee female "Ai".
