Abstract

The vocal communication of non-human primates is one of the most debated issues of the scientific research since Darwin's publication (1871). Recent ethological studies have shown the importance of vocal communication among non-human primates societies, which have reformulated the view of non-human primates vocalizations as simple emotional expressions. The experimental research, which is described in this paper, is set in this context of studies to explore the ability of chimpanzees in a visual-vocal task to discriminate the social bond by species-specific vocalizations. The role of the vocal dimension of sociality is discussed.