Harrison Rebecca M, Nystrom Pia
Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK.
Primates. 2010 Jul;51(3):251-61. doi: 10.1007/s10329-010-0191-9. Epub 2010 Mar 12.
Species-level right handedness is frequently presented as a marker of human uniqueness. Handedness also has implications for the evolution of language and cognition. In this study, we examined handedness in 22 captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) across a range of behaviours that were part of their daily routine. Ten individuals showed no preferences for any of the behaviours performed, and the majority of the remaining individuals showed a preference for only one behaviour. These results lend support to the theory that species-level handedness is unique to humans. It is hoped that these results will contribute to investigations into the evolution of handedness, which can ultimately be used to further our understanding of the evolution of human language and cognition.
物种层面的右利手常被视为人类独特性的一个标志。利手对语言和认知的进化也有影响。在本研究中，我们对22只圈养大猩猩（西部大猩猩）在一系列日常行为中的利手情况进行了研究。10只个体对所进行的任何行为都没有偏好，其余大多数个体只对一种行为表现出偏好。这些结果支持了物种层面的利手是人类独有的这一理论。希望这些结果将有助于对利手进化的研究，最终可用于增进我们对人类语言和认知进化的理解。
