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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Published on: November 11, 2011

Do bonobos say NO by shaking their head?

Christel Schneider¹, Josep Call, Katja Liebal

¹Evolutionary Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. schneide@eva.mpg.de

Primates; Journal of Primatology

|April 27, 2010

Summary

Bonobos use head-shaking gestures to prevent actions, unlike the typical play solicitation seen in other apes. This behavior may be an early form of human negation, requiring further study.

Area of Science:

Primatology
Evolutionary Anthropology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Head-shaking gestures in African great apes commonly signal requests for activities like play.
The communicative functions of gestures in non-human primates offer insights into human gestural evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate non-soliciting head-shaking behaviors in bonobos.
To explore the potential evolutionary origins of human negative head gestures.

Main Methods:

Observational study of four bonobos in their natural or semi-natural habitat.
Detailed ethological analysis of head-shaking occurrences and their contextual function.

Main Results:

Observations revealed bonobos using head-shaking gestures to deter specific actions from recipients.

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This contrasts with the generally accepted soliciting function of head-shaking in related species.

Conclusions:

Bonobo head-shaking may serve a preventive function, potentially representing an ancestral form of human negative head movements.
Further research is essential to confirm the preventive role and evolutionary significance of these gestures in the development of negation.