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Apes and humans have been sharing a laugh for 15 million years [View all]
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-apes-humans-million-years.htmlUniversity of Warwick
Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, a University of Warwick study reveals. The finding offers unexpected clues to how human speech evolved.
All living great apes--chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans--laugh. But until now, it has been unclear how our laughter may have changed over millions of years of evolution and how it might relate to the evolution of speech in humans.
In a new Communications Biology study, Warwick researchers analyzed laughter recordings from four orangutans, two gorillas, three bonobos, four chimpanzees and four humans. Across 140 laughter sequences, they found the same pattern: All species produce laughter with evenly spaced rhythmic intervals between successive sounds.
The researchers propose this basic rhythmic structure was already present in a shared common ancestor 15 million years ago and has remained remarkably conserved, with all living great apes still showing the same underlying pattern.
. . .
All living great apes--chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans--laugh. But until now, it has been unclear how our laughter may have changed over millions of years of evolution and how it might relate to the evolution of speech in humans.
In a new Communications Biology study, Warwick researchers analyzed laughter recordings from four orangutans, two gorillas, three bonobos, four chimpanzees and four humans. Across 140 laughter sequences, they found the same pattern: All species produce laughter with evenly spaced rhythmic intervals between successive sounds.
The researchers propose this basic rhythmic structure was already present in a shared common ancestor 15 million years ago and has remained remarkably conserved, with all living great apes still showing the same underlying pattern.
. . .
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