It is known that the unusual great apes of Africa known as bonobos, the primal relatives of humanity communicate much like babies, now researchers through a new study have suggested that this could be an indication that they might be on an evolutionary fast-track to complex language development.

Study researchers stated that the bonobos make short and very high pitched calls pronounced with a closed mouth. Researchers during the study found that these calls are produced in a wide range of situations across positive, negative and neutral circumstances like as feeding, resting and travelling.

Scientists, who published their findings of the study published in the journal PeerJ, said that it was previously thought primate vocalizations are tied to contexts and emotional states, whereas human speech is not governed by this.

Researchers said that before babies develop language they produce calls known as protophones based on their emotional state. These calls differ from laughter or crying, they said.

The similarities in the acoustic structure of the peeps and baby vocalizations suggest bonobos have contextual flexibility, with recipients having to take a meaning from the sound depending on the context.

Study leader Zanna Clay said, “When I studied the bonobos in their native setting in Congo, I was struck by how frequent their peeps were, and how many different contexts they produce them in”.

Clay said it became very clear before them that because they couldn’t always differentiate between peeps, they needed to understand the context to get to the root of their communication.