DOMINIC W. MASSARO, editor
University of California, Santa Cruz

Why Gesture?

The Gestural Communication of Apes and Monkeys
Edited by Josep Call and Michael Tomasello. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2007. 256 pp. Paper, $34.95.

The Gestural Communication of Apes and Monkeys, edited by Josep Call and Michael Tomasello, reflects a revitalized interest in the evolution of human language, book reviews 691 corresponding to the improving power of science to shed light on the topic. Yet, although modern DNA evidence suggests a common ancestor between humans and the genus Pan (i.e., chimpanzees and bonobos) at only an estimated 5 to 7 million years ago (Bailey et al., 1992), the extent to which the communication of chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates can inform our understanding of the origins of language remains hotly debated. Among numerous issues, the debate revolves around questions related to modularity, modality, iconicity, intentionality, and the qualitative characteristics of human and nonhuman primate communication (e.g., questions such as, "How are Kanzi's communicative abilities like or unlike human language?").