PRODUCTION AND COMPREHENSION OF REFERENTIAL POINTING BY ORANGUTANS (PONGO-PYGMAEUS)

We report 3 studies of the referential pointing of 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Chantek was raised in an enculturated environment; Puti, r aised in a nursery, had a more typical captive life. In Experiment 1, flexibility of pointing behavior was investigated by requiring subject s to point in novel circumstances (for an out-of-sight tool, not food) . In Experiment 2, we investigated the orangutans' comprehension of th e significance of a human point in helping them to locate food. In Exp eriment 3, we investigated whether these pointing subjects comprehende d that a human recipient must be looking for the point to achieve its attention directing goal. In all experiments the enculturated oranguta n showed better understanding of pointing than the captive orangutan. This finding is consistent with recent studies that have found differe nces in the cognitive and social-cognitive abilities of apes that have had different types of experience with humans.