A new study reveals that orangutans have the ability to produce two distinct sounds simultaneously, similar to singing birds or beatbox performers.
Researchers from the University of Warwick (UK) state that these findings provide insights into the evolution of human speech, as well as the art of beatboxing, according to Independent.
According to the findings, male orangutans produce sounds known as “chomps” – crunching noises – along with grunts. Meanwhile, females emit high-pitched sounds, such as squeaks.
Orangutans also have the ability to produce two types of sounds simultaneously. (Photo: Pexels).
“Humans use their lips, tongue, and jaw to produce voiceless sounds of consonants while simultaneously activating vocal folds in the larynx with airflow to create open sounds,” explained Adriano Lameira, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Warwick, regarding how humans beatbox.
Professor Lameira suggests that orangutans also have the ability to produce two types of sounds at the same time.
For example, male orangutans on Borneo create noises that are a combination of crunching sounds and grunts during combat situations. Female orangutans on Sumatra produce squeals simultaneously with calls to warn of potential predatory threats.
“The fact that two distinct populations of orangutans can simultaneously produce two sounds indicates that this is a biological phenomenon,” said Lameira.
The researchers observed the vocalizations of two populations of orangutans on Borneo and Sumatra for 3,800 hours. They discovered that primates in both groups utilized a similar vocal phenomenon.
“Humans rarely produce voiceless and voiced sounds simultaneously, except in beatboxing. This is a skilled vocal performance that mimics the complex rhythms of hip-hop,” co-author and independent researcher Madeleine Hardus stated.
According to the researchers, the ability to control and coordinate vocalization in wild great apes has been underestimated compared to the focus on the vocal abilities of birds.
Dr. Hardus noted that producing two sounds is precisely how birds sing, which resembles spoken language. However, the anatomy of birds differs from that of humans, making it difficult to establish a connection between birdsong and human language.
“It is possible that the primitive language of humans sounded more like beatboxing before the process of language evolved into the consonant and vowel structures we know today,” Dr. Hardus remarked.
