Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2011 May;60(5):605-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.008. Epub 2011 Feb 21.
Whether or not nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable scientific debate. Here, we examined handedness for coordinated bimanual actions in a sample of 777 great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. We found population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, but left-handedness in orangutans. Directional biases in handedness were consistent across independent samples of apes within each genus. We suggest that, contrary to previous claims, population-level handedness is evident in great apes but differs among species as a result of ecological adaptations associated with posture and locomotion. We further suggest that historical views of nonhuman primate handedness have been too anthropocentric, and we advocate for a larger evolutionary framework for the consideration of handedness and other aspects of hemispheric specialization among primates.
非人类灵长类动物是否表现出群体水平的手性仍然是一个相当有争议的科学话题。在这里,我们研究了包括黑猩猩、倭黑猩猩、大猩猩和猩猩在内的 777 只大型猿类的协调双手动作的手性。我们发现黑猩猩、倭黑猩猩和大猩猩存在群体水平的右利手性,但猩猩则存在左利手性。在每个属内,手性的定向偏差在独立的猿类样本中是一致的。我们认为,与之前的说法相反,群体水平的手性在大型猿类中是明显的,但由于与姿势和运动相关的生态适应,在物种间存在差异。我们进一步认为,以往对非人类灵长类手性的看法过于以人类为中心,我们主张采用更大的进化框架来考虑手性和灵长类半球特化的其他方面。