They still have ways to communicate how they re feeling. Using grunts, screeches, and body language, they can tell each other they are excited, afraid, happy, hungry, or depressed. Baboons have pretty complicated social lives. This week s History Mystery was about why baboons make friends. Your answers to this mystery will help Dr. Strum figure out how baboon society might be similar to the earliest human societies.
Baboons have to cooperate with one other to survive.
They need to be able to communicate well to avoid conflict and work together. The evolution of language was an important step in becoming human. With language, early humans could hunt together, discuss the day s events, and plan for the days and months ahead. The fact is, only humans use spoken language. Looking at the baboons, I try to imagine the first time a human spoke.