Iowan comes home to study apes
Posted: Monday, May 09, 2005
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An Iowan who left the state to become one of the countries foremost authorities on primate language research has returned home to continue his study of apes.
Duane Rumbaugh, who grew up in Maynard, is the academic and community outreach coordinator at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa in Des Moines.
He is officially retired, but Rumbaugh, 75, said he jumped at the chance to work at the center that will have all four kinds of great apes.
Two orangutans already live at the center, and bonobos, ape leaders in language skills, are scheduled to arrive beginning this week.
Rumbaugh is known for designing a "lexigram board" that changed ape language studies forever. Before then, scientists relied on what Rumbaugh says were questionable interpretations of apes' imprecise use of American sign language.
"I thought that fell far short of language," Rumbaugh said.
Rumbaugh developed a system that allows researchers to record on computers whether apes can recognize abstract symbols, or lexigrams, on a computer board.
"I wanted to capture the data objectively," Rumbaugh said. "We added objectivity to language research. The first efforts succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."
Lexigram boards are computerized arrays of abstract symbols that apes learn to associate with objects, or people. Some of the boards also play a human voice saying the word when the key is pushed, and some bonobos respond to words spoken by people.
Chimpanzees showed they could put multiple-word sentences together. The namesake of the project, Lana, for example, would use symbols to say, "Please machine give M&M." or "Please Lana drink Coke this room."
His early keyboards later led to portable computer versions and touch screens used today.
"We are about changing the attitudes of people in the world about conservation and nature," said Rumbaugh, who designed a system to help launch monkeys into space and a joystick system that apes can use to perform a variety of tasks, including playing video games.
"We see great apes as the thing to advance the cause. All living great apes are on the verge of extinction.
"The apes are a smart, feeling band of sociological creatures ever so much like us," Rumbaugh said. "If we can't save the apes, look out! We will be racing down a pathway that will lead to our own demise."
Duane Rumbaugh, who grew up in Maynard, is the academic and community outreach coordinator at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa in Des Moines.
He is officially retired, but Rumbaugh, 75, said he jumped at the chance to work at the center that will have all four kinds of great apes.
Two orangutans already live at the center, and bonobos, ape leaders in language skills, are scheduled to arrive beginning this week.
Rumbaugh is known for designing a "lexigram board" that changed ape language studies forever. Before then, scientists relied on what Rumbaugh says were questionable interpretations of apes' imprecise use of American sign language.
"I thought that fell far short of language," Rumbaugh said.
Rumbaugh developed a system that allows researchers to record on computers whether apes can recognize abstract symbols, or lexigrams, on a computer board.
"I wanted to capture the data objectively," Rumbaugh said. "We added objectivity to language research. The first efforts succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."
Lexigram boards are computerized arrays of abstract symbols that apes learn to associate with objects, or people. Some of the boards also play a human voice saying the word when the key is pushed, and some bonobos respond to words spoken by people.
Chimpanzees showed they could put multiple-word sentences together. The namesake of the project, Lana, for example, would use symbols to say, "Please machine give M&M." or "Please Lana drink Coke this room."
His early keyboards later led to portable computer versions and touch screens used today.
"We are about changing the attitudes of people in the world about conservation and nature," said Rumbaugh, who designed a system to help launch monkeys into space and a joystick system that apes can use to perform a variety of tasks, including playing video games.
"We see great apes as the thing to advance the cause. All living great apes are on the verge of extinction.
"The apes are a smart, feeling band of sociological creatures ever so much like us," Rumbaugh said. "If we can't save the apes, look out! We will be racing down a pathway that will lead to our own demise."
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