gesture
In many cultures, pointing to rainbows was taboo, probably because it was considered an aggressive act toward a sacred, awesome entity. Detail from a 19th century painting (source).
Around the world and across the centuries, humans have considered pointing to be an aggressive act. But few seem to have asked the obvious question: Why?
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The head nod is one of our most commonly used gestural signals, but remarkably few researchers have tried to explain its origins. How did this simple up-and-down movement come to mean ‘yes’?
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Two unidentified Maori women performing a hongi greeting. Image taken circa 1909 by William Archer Price. Price Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library
Smell used to play a much more obvious role in human greeting rituals. What happened?
Read MoreFive explanations for an everyday, enigmatic gesture.
Read MoreIn a 1977 paper, a "human ethologist" described some of the greeting forms used in Papua New Guinea.
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