Imitation and cultural transmission in apes and cetaceans

Andrew Whiten

doi:10.1017/S0140525X01603960

Abstract

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Recent evidence suggests imitation is more developed in some cetaceans than the authors imply. Apart from apes, only dolphins have so far shown a grasp of what it is to imitate; moreover dolphins ape humans more clearly than do apes. Why have such abilities not been associated with the kind of progressive cultural complexity characteristic of humans?

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Imitation and cultural transmission in apes and cetaceans

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