Table 1.

A gestural repertoire of 1- to 2-year-old children

Gesture type (gestural action)	Definition	N	Chimpanzee
			I	J	All
Arm benda	One or both arms held horizontally away from the signaller and then rapidly retracted towards the signaller	10	−	−	−
Arm raise	Raise arm and/or hand vertically in the air	56	+	+	+
Arm raise w. object	As ‘Arm raise’, while holding object	10	−	+	+
Arm shake	Small repeated back and forth motion of the arm, and/or hand	5	+	+	+
Arm wave	Large repeated back and forth motion of the arm raised above the shoulder	7	−	+	+
Arm wave w. object	As ‘Arm wave’, while holding object	5	−	+	+
Bite	Recipient’s body is held between the teeth or lips of the signaller	2	+	+	+
Clap	Both palms moved towards each other and are brought together with audible contact	6	1	−	1
Embrace	Signaller wraps one or both arm(s) around the recipient and maintains physical contact	3	+	+	+
Fling	Rapid movement of the arm or hand in the direction of the recipient	1	1	+	+
Grab	Hand is firmly closed over part of the recipient’s body	16	+	+	+
Grab hold	As ‘Grab’ but closed hand contact is maintained for at least 2 s	11	+	+	+
Grab pull	As ‘Grab’ but closed hand contact is maintained and a force exerted to move the recipient from their current position	8	+	+	+
Grab pull 2hands	As ‘Grab pull’ but with both hands	1	+	+	+
Hand on	Palm of the hand or knuckles are placed on the recipient, contact lasts for more than 2 s	1	+	+	+
Hand wavea	Repeated back and forth motion of the hand from the wrist, typically while held above the shoulder	21	−	−	−
Head shake	Repeated back and forth movement of the head (side to side or vertical)	7	−	+	+
Hit object/ground	Movement of the arm from the shoulder with hard short contact of the open palm or closed fist to an object or the ground	10	+	+	+
Hit object/ground 2hands	As ‘Hit object/ground’ but with both hands	2	+	+	+
Hit object w. object	As ‘Hit object/ground’ but the hand holds an object which is brought into contact with another object or the ground	5	−	+	+
Hit other	As ‘Hit object/ground’ but the hand is brought into contact with the recipient’s body	17	+	+	+
Hit other 2hands	As ‘Hit other’ but with both hands	3	+	+	+
Hit selfb	As ‘Hit other’ but the hand is brought into audible contact with the signaller’s body	10	−	1	1
Hit with object	As ‘Hit other’ but the hand holds an object which is brought into contact with the recipient’s body	3	+	+	+
Hitting object/ground	As ‘Hit object/ground’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	8	1	1	+
Hitting other	As ‘Hit other’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	5	+	+	+
Hitting with object	As ‘Hit with object’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	1	−	−	+
Jump	While bipedal both feet leave the ground simultaneously, accompanied by horizontal displacement through the air	2	+	+	+
Locomote	An exaggerated stiff walking or running movement, typically with audible contact of the feet	2	+	+	+
Look	Signaller holds eye-contact position with the recipient for at least 2 s	3	1	1	+
Object in mouth	Signaller approaches recipient while carrying an object in the mouth	2	+	+	+
Object on headb	Signaller faces or approaches recipient while balancing an object on the head	4	−	1	1
Object move	Object is displaced in one direction, contact is maintained throughout movement	2	+	+	+
Object shake	Repeated back and forth movement of an object	10	+	+	+
Poke	Firm, brief push of one or more fingers into the recipient’s body	1	1	+	+
Push	Palm in contact with recipient’s body and force is exerted in attempt to displace recipient	7	+	+	+
Reach palm	Arm extended to the recipient with the palm held vertically or upwards and the fingers in an open position	107	+	+	+
Reach directed	As ‘Reach palm’ but arm is extended towards a third party or object, while audience checking, response waiting, and/or other signals are directed to recipient	164	−	+	+
Rocking	Back and forth movement of the torso from the waist, typically while seated	6	1	+	+
Rubb	Back and forth movement of the palms on the signaller’s body	32	−	−	−
Stomp	Sole of the foot is lifted vertically and brought into contact with the surface being stood upon	11	+	+	+
Stomping	As ‘Stomp’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	1	+	+	+
Swing	Large back and forth movement of arm(s) or leg(s) from shoulder or hip	3	+	+	+
Swing w. object	As ‘Swing’ but hand or foot holds an object	7	−	+	+
Tap object	Movement of the arm from the wrist or elbow, with firm short contact of one or more fingers to the object	2	−	−	+
Tap other	As ‘Tap object’ but the fingers are brought into contact with the recipient’s body	3	+	+	+
Tapping object	As ‘Tap object’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	6	−	1	+
Tapping other	As ‘Tap other’ but there is regular rhythmic repetition of the action	6	−	+	+
Tapping selfb	As ‘Tapping other’ but the fingers are brought into contact with the signaller’s body	3	−	−	−
Throw object	Object is moved and released so that there is displacement through the air after moment of release	36	+	+	+
Thrust	Hips are brought into repeated contact with the recipient’s body	1	−	−	+
Touch	Light contact of the hand and/or fingers on the body of the recipient, contact under 2 s	25	+	+	+

Within the chimpanzee repertoire we distinguish those recorded to date as employed by infant (I) or juvenile (J) chimpanzees, from those recorded in the species repertoire (All); + = present, − = not observed; ¹observed but insufficient cases in wild chimpanzees for inclusion in current repertoire. Gesture descriptions follow: Hobaiter and Byrne 2011, updated in Hobaiter and Byrne 2017. N = number of gesture tokens. Given a small data set, all potential gestures are described here, however we would typically require n = 2 cases of intentional use and use by at least two individuals for inclusion in a great ape repertoire (Hobaiter and Byrne 2011a, b)

^aThe gestures have not been described to date in the repertoire of other apes

^bThe gesture is found in the gorilla, but not in the chimpanzee repertoire; all other gestures are present in the chimpanzee repertoire