Monkeying Around: The Linguistic Studies of Primates

Primates are closely related to human beings and provide us great insights into what life would have been like for our hominid (human) ancestors, specifically species in the Australopithecus and Homo genera.  As such primate studies are primarily in the realm of physical anthropology, but today’s blog post will focus on primate studies not from a physical anthropological perspective but from a linguistic anthropological one.  Linguistic anthropologists have dabbled in primate studies in order to gain a better understanding of how language may have developed among our early hominid ancestors and from there have learned about what specifically makes our human language and means of communication so unique from other forms of communication among various animal species, specifically our primate cousins.  This blog post will discuss some of those studies and the information gleaned from them.

Studies of primates have demonstrated that primates can indeed communicate, although not in the same capacities as we, humans, can and do.  Primates communicate in a system of call systems, which are a series of sounds that vary in duration and intensity and are associated with specific environmental stimuli.  These sounds serve the purpose of primates by informing them of potential resources and dangers that individuals or groups may encounter in their environments, but these sounds are also incredibly inflexible as they are limited in type and use.  This means that if a primate encounters two different environmental stimuli simultaneously the primate can only express one response, not two.  This may occur when a primate encounters food and a predator at the same time.  In situation the primate can only signal one of two sounds: one for food or one for predator/danger but not both.  Also, this inflexibility in sounds means that the same sound may be used for completely different situations even if a new response is warranted.  For example, a primate may react to encountering a new situation (e.g. a new food source) the same way as it would to a predator by utilizing the fear/danger response.   

It is believed that our hominid ancestors utilized a similar form of communication, but as their brains evolved and developed they eventually began to manipulate the sounds they could produce and associated them with specific meanings, thoughts, and abstract ideas.  This is why we, as humans, can speak and communicate, whereas other animals cannot.  We also have the capacity to learn what these sounds mean and their associations, which is another reason why we have language and other animals are not considered to possess language.

Figure 1: Washoe & Beatrice Gardner

But primate studies have provided linguistic scholars further insights human and primate communication.  Experiments demonstrate that primates, specifically apes (i.e. chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos) can learn to use language, although they cannot speak.  They can learn and use sign language when taught by a human handler.  The first primate to do this was a chimpanzee named Washoe (Figure 1).  She was taught sign language by R. Allen and Beatrice Gardner, who were stationed at the University of Nevada-Reno.  Washoe learned over 100 signs representing several English words and within a year was able to communicate with short, basic sentences.  Studies of Washoe were followed up by a study on another chimpanzee named Lucy (Figure 2).  Primatologist Roger Fouts taught Lucy a series of signs, and she demonstrated similar language learning capabilities as Washoe.  She, however, took her language skills a bit further as she demonstrated the ability to teach language, swear, and lie, but it was Lucy’s ability to teach language that provided scholars insights into the cultural transmission of language.  This means that language is learned, which has since been identified as a key feature of language.

 

Figure 2: Lucy & Roger Fouts (Image Source: Allposters.com)

While work with chimpanzees was pioneering the work with gorillas provided more insights into language and language acquisition.  Penny Patterson worked with a gorilla named Koko (Figure 3), and Koko demonstrated a greater capacity to learn.  Koko learned far more signs than her chimpanzee predecessors and had a greater ability to compose thoughts.  She even demonstrated the ability to create new words, which is identified as productivity.  She connected specific signs and words to describe objects that she had seen but didn’t have a sign for.  She also demonstrated displacement, which means that she would discuss matters that were not present or were in the past.  This occurred when Koko apologized to Penny, her handler, for biting her in the previous days.  

Figure 3: Koko & Pet Kitten

There is at least one case of a Bonobo learning to communicate with humans, too.  Kanzi (Figure 4) is one such Bonobo housed at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University.  He learned and mastered communication via a keyboard with symbols, referred to as a lexigram, and he responds to specific human words by typing the symbol on the keyboard.  He, like the other primates, has demonstrated an ability to communicate with humans through the use of the keyboard, but he also can communicate through responding to commands given to him by his human handlers.  

Figure 4: Kanzi & Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

These primate studies show that primates have the ability to learn and use language, but this is only after they have learned means of communication from humans.  There remains no evidence of independent invention of language among primates-be they in captivity or in the wild.  As such there are critics of these studies and primates’ ability to learn language, but it is important to note that none of these critics have actually worked with primates in these capacities.  I do, however, want to leave you with several videos so you can judge for yourself whether or not these studies are legitimate or not in case you, too, have your doubts:

Washoe Video

Koko Video

Kanzi Video

References:

Gezon, L., & Kottak, C. (2014).  Cultural Anthropology McGraw-Hill  

Let’s Talk About Sex: A Discussion of Moche Erotic Pottery

Figures 1 & 2: Moche Pottery; Prisoner, Realistic Ceramic (Left) and Fisherman, Moche Fine Line (Right).  Images Taken by C. Boston, 2007.

The Moche existed along north coast of Peru from 200 to 850 AD.  It was a complex, state level society that covered a large geographical area.  Their cities, temples, and agriculture dotted the northern Peruvian coastline in what are considered two factions of the Moche: the Northern and Southern.  They both had a complex ideology that involved ritual sacrifice, priests and priestesses, and elaborate ceremonials.  The Moche are probably best known and recognized for their complex pottery styles, which ranged from fine-line to realistic pieces, all of which were made with clay and elaborately painted and stylized (Figure 1 & 2).  One such pottery style that is poorly studied among the Moche is their erotic pottery (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Moche Erotic Pottery (Source: Journeys, & C)

The Moche erotic pottery is characterized by the various sexual acts depicted, which include acts of oral, vaginal, and anal sex as well as masturbation.  These acts are most commonly shown between a man and a woman, although male on male homosexual acts are present, too.  Although heterosexual sexual relations are the most common it is interesting to note that vaginal sexual acts are the most rarely depicted.  Common sexual acts demonstrated in Moche erotic pottery are (in order of most common to least common) heterosexual anal sex, acts of masturbation, and heterosexual oral sex.  There are also several vases that portray males with their erect penises.  These pieces are known as phallic libations (Figure 4).  These are functional ceramics used as pouring vessels, with the erect penis being used as the spout.

Figure 4: Moche Phallic Libation Ceramic (Image Source: Elo Gallery)

The purpose of the Moche erotic pottery is still unknown in part due to their lack of study and the lack of contextual information associated with them.  There are, however, some hypotheses to explain the purpose of these ceramics:

·         Many scholars believe that these pots were used by the Moche as educational tools about sex and reproduction.  Given the number of sexual acts presented in the pottery this idea seems plausible, but the rarity of vaginal sexual acts, which leads to reproduction, casts doubt on this hypothesis.

·         R. Larco Hoyle proposed that the Moche erotic ceramics were indeed used as an educational tool for sexual education but not for reproductive purposes.  He believed that the lack of vaginal intercourse and the high prevalence of non-reproductive sexual acts, such as anal sex and masturbation, meant that the erotic pottery represented acts of birth control. 

·         Joan Gero believes that the Moche erotic pottery, while literally representing sexual acts, metaphorically represented power and political relationships within the Moche culture.  The Moche was the dominant culture of the period, and Gero believed that the Moche erotics symbolized the Moche’s dominance over other more subordinate groups that they conquered.  She also notes that the acts were performed on men by women, further demonstrating the dominance of men over women in Moche society.

·         Steve Bourget, however, believes that the Moche erotics signify the political and religious authority of the Moche leadership.  He points out how specific sexual acts seem to symbolize religious and authoritative positions.  He points out how the position of the individuals in the Moche anal erotics resembles a temple, and how in the oral sexual acts the male is seated with the female kneeling in front, which is similar to a throne.

At this point, it is unclear as to which, if any, of these hypotheses is the strongest and what the true purpose of the Moche erotics may have been.  Further study is necessary in order to better understand their purpose and the Moche culture, as well.

References

Bourget, S. and Taylor, AC.  2010.  Sex, Death, and Sacrifice in the Mochica Religion.  Musee du quai Branly.

Gero, J.  2004.  “Sex Pots of Ancient Peru: Post-Gender Reflections.”  In Combining the Past and the Present: Archaeological Perspectives on Society.  Edited by T. Oestigaard, N. Anfinset, and T. Saetersdal.  Oxford: Publishers of British Archaeological Reports.

Larco Hoyle, R. 1965. Checcan. Geneva: Nagel.

Applied Anthropology Profile: Karyn de Dufour, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer

http://shpo.nv.gov/

The road to becoming an archaeologist was not a linear one for Karyn de Dufour.  It was one that bobbed and weaved and led down a couple of meandering paths.  Each of which eventually added to her repertoire of skills that she currently uses in her current position as the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer through the State Historic Preservation Office of Nevada. 

Karyn always knew that she wanted to be an archaeologist.  She spent her childhood growing up in Washington, D.C. during the Bicentennial days, and her parents’ expansive collection of National Geographic magazines kept her flush with research for various school papers, all of which focused on archaeological subject matter.  It should come to no surprise then that one of Karyn’s favorite childhood activities was to bury her toys and excavate them a few days later. 

As Karyn grew up, though, her archaeological aspirations were side tracked as she discovered her love of dance and theatre, and she focused her studies on art history during her first Bachelors of Arts degree at the University of Maryland.  She did, however, participate in an excavation in Israel.  She was surrounded by a variety of classical scholars, who primarily come from Art History, History, Classical Studies, etc., but the scholar who most intrigued her was an archaeologist by the name of Dr. James Adovasio.  His work at the Israeli site focused on the micro-stratigraphy analyzes.  While many other students thought very little of his work Karyn defended his approach and was intrigued but continued her original studies upon returning to Maryland. 

After receiving her Art History degree Karyn acquired a position at a regional theatre and worked for their IT department in database management.  While she really enjoyed the job and the technical aspects of it she did not love it or feel the same passion as her fellow theatre professionals felt.  As she put it, it was not a “eat beans-n-weenies” type of job (aka a job that you have no problems living in poverty for).  Shortly thereafter she did discover a career field that she could do that for, and it was through one of the most unlikely of places: a PBS documentary featuring none other than the archaeologist, Dr. James Adovasio, who was at the dig in Israel.  Within a year, Karyn had quit her job and relocated to Erie, PA, where she started a new Bachelor’s program in archaeology at Mercyhurst College, which was started and headed up by Adovasio.

Because of Karyn’s previous degree and occupational experiences Karyn knew that she wanted to focus her studies in archaeology as a means of fulfilling her goals of being at the intersection of the past and the future.  She dedicated her studies to technical aspects of archaeological research, learning mapping techniques, surveying, and database management.  These skills eventually landed her a position at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where she acquired new skill sets in remote sensing and ground penetrating radar (GPR). 

Karyn eventually left this position to pursue graduate studies in Colorado, and it was during her studies that she found out about a position through the Archaeological Records Management Section (ARMS), which is a division of the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office.  At that point in her life she wasn’t interested in acquiring full time work as she was about to delve more deeply into her graduate work and the position was actually one that her husband was considering applying for.  Through their conversations, though, Karyn realized that this was the position she had always dreamed of-one that combined her technical skills with her archaeological interests.  She applied and took the job in 2006.  

From there, she eventually took a similar position through the Nevada state government, where she is currently employed as the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer.  Karyn soon realized that her art history training was the perfect complement to her new job responsibilities, which in part involved evaluating architectural history.  Karyn loves her job and as she puts it, “I joke with my workmates about “anthropoverty” but compared to the arts (specifically theatre & dance) it’s actually a more stable and lucrative career path!“  Karyn notes that there are several opportunities both at the state and federal government level for positions in archaeology, not to mention the jobs available in the private sector.  More information on job opportunities in anthropology can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Anthropology.   

E.T. Go Home! Debunking Alien Mythos in Archaeology

E.T.

Lilo & Stitch.

Coneheads.

District 9.

Predator.

All of these popular movies have one thing in common: they are all based on aliens, or extra-terrestrial beings that come from faraway places in the universe.  The mythos surrounding aliens are numerous, with a variety of ideas about aliens existing throughout many Western cultures.  There continues to be quite the obsession about aliens, perpetuated by popular television shows dedicated to their discovery and understanding.  One such show, Ancient Aliens, focuses specifically on archaeological studies to demonstrate the lengthy existence of aliens from pre-history to modern times.  But how valid is the information alleged by this show?  Does archaeological evidence support the existence of aliens?  Today’s blog post is dedicated to debunking three popular myths about aliens in relation to archaeology: aliens among us, alien landing strips, & an alien mummy.

Alien Myth 1: Aliens Among Us

For several millennia there were humans across the globe that practiced what is known as artificial cranial modification (ACM), which is the purposeful reshaping of the skull to transform the natural cranial form.  Cranial shapes varied with some ACM styles creating a cone shaped elongation of the skull and others creating the appearance of a stunted and bulbous appearance to the sides of the skull (Figure 1).  The alien-like appearance of several of the ACM forms have led some to believe that ACM was completed by many as a means of mimicking the appearance of alien visitors who they came in contact with.     

Figure 1: ACM Styles (Images after Blom, 2005)

It is unclear what specifically initiated this cross-cultural practice of ACM.  This uncertainty is used by some to support the idea of contact between ancient humans and aliens.  There are, however, some ideas and supporting evidence to explain why some cultures began practicing ACM and it was not due to alien contact.  According to the Popol Vuh, a Post-Classic Mayan text that contains the religious narratives of the Maya people (akin to the Christian Bible or Muslim Koran), the ancient Maya were instructed by their gods to manipulate their skulls into the shape of corn, which was based on the belief that the gods created humans out of corn.  Some scholars believe that ancient Egyptians may have begun modifying their skulls in order to mimic the appearance of the elongated skull of the Pharaoh Akhenaten.  Akhenaten may have suffered from Marfan’s syndrome, which caused him to have an elongated skull, and based on Egyptian iconography it is believed that many Egyptian citizens followed suit to honor their god king.  These are just two hypotheses that exist to explain the inception of ACM practices, and these may be clues as to why other cultures began to practice ACM: be it to mimic the natural world around them or the pathological conditions of their leaders or prominent members.  There are logical explanations for this practice, and jumping straight to the alien conclusion is unnecessary and farfetched.   Therefore, this alien myth is

Image Source: Meme Center

Alien Myth 2: Alien Landing Strips

The Nasca Lines are a series of geoglyphs, or drawings imprinted on the earth.  The Nasca Lines are located in southern Peru and date from 200 to 600 years ago, when the Nasca culture existed in the region.  The Nasca Lines depict 300 figures, ranging from natural fauna (e.g. primates and spiders) to geometric shapes (e.g. spirals and triangles).  The series of geometric shapes and one anomalous shape dubbed the “astronaut” (Figure 2) led Erich von Daniken to conclude that the Nasca people created these geoglyphs as landing strips for and communication with extra-terrestrials.

Figure 2: The Astronaut, Nasca Lines (Google Images)

 As you can imagine von Daniken’s hypothesis is not a popular one among archaeological scholars, who have dedicated years of scientific study to why the Nasca Lines were created.  While no definitive conclusion as to their purpose has been reached there are several strong hypotheses that currently exist.  Many of these hypotheses focus on the religious significance of the Nasca Lines, associating them with the existence of a past cult dedicated to the acquisition of water.  Southern Peru is home to the Atacama Desert, which has been and continues to be the world’s driest desert, so water is scarce.  Therefore it is believed that the Nasca Lines were used in rituals to bring water to the region.  Other scholars believe that the Nasca Lines were instead used to designate trade routes, particularly between highland and coastal inhabitants.  The figures depicted in the Nasca Lines resemble other geoglyphs found in other nearby regions, specifically in northern Chile.  Although these other geoglyphs are not as grand in scale but are still quite large they are strongly associated with designating trade networks as they can be seen from a great distance.  Further study of the Nasca Lines is ongoing and more and more evidence is being uncovered daily, which is narrowing the motivations for their creation and purpose.  Based on these reasonable explanations and continued study of the Nasca Lines, there remains little support of the Nasca Lines being associated with extra-terrestrials of any sort, and therefore this myth is

Image Source: Meme Center

Alien Myth 3: Alien Mummy

A little over a decade ago a small humanoid mummy was discovered in the Atacama Desert by Oscar Munoz (Figure 3).  The mummy was no more than six inches in length and nicknamed “Ata”.  It had a large, cone shaped head and lithe frame, which resembles several modern day descriptions of aliens.  The physical appearance of the mummy led many to conclude that it was that of an alien, but several anthropological and biological scholars believed that there was a more reasonable explanation for “Ata”, hypothesizing it was a premature and spontaneous aborted child, an infant with a severe malformation, or a South American primate.  

Figure 3: "Ata", The Presumed "Alien" Mummy of the Atacama Desert (Image Source: Bryner, 2013)

Unfortunately, the mystery had to wait at least a decade to be solved because the field of genetics was not prepared to adequately test the DNA for this ancient mummy, but in 2013 scholars published the results of their genetic analyses, which concluded that “Ata” was indeed human, not alien.  But that was not the only piece of evidence revealed by these studies.  Scholars further affirmed that the mummy was that of a 6 to 8 year old child who suffered from some unknown malformations.  Further study of “Ata” is ongoing in order to conclude what led to his or her death and small size that is abnormal for the age of death.  Therefore, this alien myth is unequivocally    

Image Source: Meme Center

Bibliography
 

Blackwood B, Danby PM.  1955.  A study of artificial cranial deformation in New Britain.  Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 85: 173-191.

Blom D.  2005.  Embodying borders: human body modification and diversity in Tiwanaku society.  Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 24: 1-24.

Brain R. 1979.  The Decorated Body.  Hutchinson: London.

Bryner, J.  2013. "Teensy alien-looking skeleton from Chile poses a medical mystery."  LiveScience.

Dingwall EJ. 1931. Artificial Cranial Deformation: A Contribution to the Study of Ethnic Mutilation.  John Bale and Sons and Danielsson, Ltd.: London.

DiscoverPeru.com

Weiss P.  1961.  Osteología Cultural, Prácticas Cefálicas: 2da Parte, Tipología de alas Deformaciones Cefálicas -- Estudio Cultural de los Tipos Cefálicos y de Algunas Enfermedades Oseas.  Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos: Peru.