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Chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 0
Chimpanzees like to dance. They also like clapping, nodding their head, and tapping their feet to music. Researchers did tests on seven chimps by playing them piano music for six days. The chimps had a sense of rhythm. The music changed their mood. Male chimpanzees danced to the songs more than the females.
Chimpanzees liked dancing around six million years ago. They passed this like on to the earliest humans. A researcher said: "Chimpanzees dance...in the same way as humans." She added: "Listening to music causes rhythmic movement." She believes her research could explain why humans love dancing so much.
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Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 1
A study shows that chimpanzees love to dance. They also like clapping, nodding their head, and tapping their feet to music. Researchers say their study could explain how humans started to like music. They did tests on seven chimps and played them piano music for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a sense of rhythm and the music changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to move to the songs more than the females.
Chimpanzees passed on a liking for dance to early humans around six million years ago. The researchers said the love of dancing was in the earliest humans. A researcher said: "Chimpanzees dance...in the same way as humans." She added: "Listening to music causes rhythmic movement, suggesting a close connection between the [hearing and movement] areas in the brain." She believes the research could explain why we love dancing so much.
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Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 2
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Did you know chimpanzees love to dance? They also like clapping, nodding their head, and tapping their feet in time with the rhythm. A study shows that chimpanzees could like music. Researchers from Japan say their study could explain how humans developed an interest in music. The researchers conducted tests on seven chimps. They played the apes six songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a real sense of rhythm and the music changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to react to the songs more than the females.
Chimpanzees passed on a liking for music and dance to early humans around six million years ago. The researchers said our love of dancing was deep inside the earliest humans. A researcher said: "Chimpanzees dance to some extent in the same way as humans." She added: "In humans, listening to music causes rhythmic movement, suggesting a close connection between the auditory and motor areas in the brain." She believes the research could explain the development of dancing in humans and why we love melody and rhythm so much.
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Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 3
Who knew that chimpanzees love to dance? They also like to clap along to music, and nod their head, tap their feet and move in time with the rhythm. A new study shows that chimpanzees could appreciate music. The researchers are from Kyoto University in Japan. They say their study could help us understand how early humans developed an interest in music. Researchers Dr Yuko Hattori and professor Masaki Tomonaga conducted tests on seven chimps. They played the apes six two-minute songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a definite sense of rhythm and it changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to respond to the melodies more than the females.
The researchers wrote that chimpanzees could have passed on a liking for music and dance to early humans millions of years ago. This could have happened via a common ancestor around six million years ago. The researchers said the study suggested that our love of dancing was deep inside the earliest humans. Dr Hattori said: "Chimpanzees dance to some extent in the same way as humans." She added: "In humans, listening to music causes rhythmic movement, suggesting a close connection between the auditory and motor areas in the brain." She believes the research could shed light on the evolution of dancing in humans and why we love melody and rhythm so much.
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