Laughter is closely related to emotional intelligence: The roots of laughter can be traced back to our common ancestors with other great apes, living around 10 to 15 million years ago. These early primates likely exhibited rudimentary forms of laughter as a social signal during play, much like modern-day chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. This “animal laughter” was not the sophisticated, rhythmic sound we associate with human laughter today but rather a series of breathy, panting vocalizations, often accompanied by physical play or tickling.
TIMELINE STORY
Laughter Emerges
By Michael Alan Prestwood
Author and Natural Philosopher
08 Aug 2024
Published 1 year ago.
Updated 5 days ago.
Evolution
- Only the great apes laugh!
- Starting about 15 Million Years Ago
TAKEAWAY: Laughter-like vocalizations emerged around 15 million years as part of our emerging emotional intelligence. It serves as a social signal during play and bonding in our common ancestors.
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Laughter Emerges
14.5 Million Years Ago (+/- 2 million)
- Only the great apes laugh!
- Starting about 15 Million Years Ago
Laughter Emerges
In these ancestral environments, laughter-like sounds served a crucial role in social bonding, helping to build trust and establish hierarchies within groups. These vocalizations signaled that play was non-threatening, a vital communication tool in complex social structures. While not as cognitively or emotionally nuanced as human laughter, this form of communication laid the groundwork for the evolution of more complex vocal expressions in the human lineage.
How Laughter Relates to Emotional Intelligence:
- Social Communication: Laughter, even in its most primitive forms, is a form of social communication that requires a basic understanding of social cues, intentions, and emotional states. This aligns with the early stages of emotional intelligence, where individuals begin to recognize and respond to the emotions of others.
- Bonding and Empathy: Emotional intelligence involves the capacity for empathy, understanding the emotions of others, and forming social bonds. Laughter plays a significant role in these processes by facilitating social bonding, reducing tension, and creating a shared emotional experience within groups.
- Complex Social Structures: As great apes developed more complex social structures, emotional intelligence would have been crucial for navigating these relationships. Laughter likely evolved as a tool to help maintain social harmony, signal non-threatening intentions, and reinforce group cohesion, all of which are key aspects of emotional intelligence.
- Cognitive Processing: Emotional intelligence also involves cognitive processes that allow individuals to understand and manage their own emotions and those of others. Laughter in humans, which can be triggered by humor or social dynamics, reflects a more advanced stage of emotional intelligence where cognitive and emotional responses are closely intertwined.
Alignment on the Timeline:
- 16 Million Years Ago: The emergence of emotional intelligence around this time would coincide with the ancestors of great apes developing more sophisticated social behaviors. As these behaviors evolved, so too did the capacity for laughter as a social and emotional tool.
- 10-15 Million Years Ago: The development of “animal laughter” fits within this broader context, serving as an early manifestation of the emotional intelligence that was beginning to take shape in these ancestral species.
References
Davila Ross, M., Owren, M. J., & Zimmermann, E. (2009). Reconstructing the evolution of laughter in great apes and humans. Current Biology, 19(13), 1106-1111.
This study investigates the acoustic characteristics of laughter in great apes and humans, suggesting that laughter-like vocalizations likely originated in a common ancestor of modern great apes and humans around 10 to 16 million years ago. The research supports the idea that these vocalizations were used in social contexts, particularly during play.
Panksepp, J., & Burgdorf, J. (2003). “Laughing” rats and the evolutionary antecedents of human joy? Physiology & Behavior, 79(3), 533-547.
Although this paper focuses on laughter-like behavior in rats, it draws parallels to the evolutionary origins of laughter in primates. The authors suggest that the roots of laughter can be traced back to early primates, possibly emerging as a social play behavior between 10 and 20 million years ago.
Preuschoft, S., & Van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M. (1997). The social function of “smile” and “laughter”: Variations across primate species and societies. In Nonverbal Communication: Where Nature Meets Culture (pp. 171-189). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This chapter discusses the social functions of smile and laughter-like expressions in primates, tracing their evolutionary origins. The authors suggest that these behaviors likely emerged in a common ancestor of today’s great apes and lesser apes, around 10 to 15 million years ago, as part of social communication during play.
De Waal, F. B. M. (1996). Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals. Harvard University Press.
In this book, Frans de Waal discusses the evolutionary basis for moral and social behaviors in primates, including laughter-like vocalizations. De Waal posits that these behaviors likely evolved during the middle Miocene, around 10 to 15 million years ago, as primates developed more complex social structures and communication methods.
King, B. J., & Shanker, S. G. (2003). The emergence of self: A comparative approach. In The Self in Context: A Tribute to Larry P. Nucci (pp. 19-40). Psychology Press.
This work explores the emergence of self-awareness and related social behaviors in primates, including laughter-like vocalizations. The authors suggest that these behaviors emerged around 10 to 15 million years ago, coinciding with the evolution of greater social complexity in primate groups.
Michael Alan Prestwood
Author & Natural Philosopher
Author & Natural Philosopher
Prestwood writes on science-first philosophy, with particular attention to the convergence of disciplines. Drawing on his TST Framework, his work emphasizes rational inquiry grounded in empirical observation while engaging questions at the edges of established knowledge. With TouchstoneTruth positioned as a living touchstone, this work aims to contribute reliable analysis in an emerging AI era where the credibility of information is increasingly contested.
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