Monkeys 'see' real, abstract, study says

LOGAN , Utah, July 21 (UPI) -- Humans aren't the only ones who can see in the real and abstract -- "lower order" animals are quite skilled at memory tasks too, U.S. researchers say.

A study by researchers of cognition and behavior at Utah State University in Logan and Duke University in North Carolina reported Rhesus macaques show they have a capacity thought solely human -- the ability to count and sum up sight-and-sound combinations to assess a situation, the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City reported Monday.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that wild animals use counting and sounds to determine territorial threats.

Utah State psychologist Kerry Jordan said results indicate macaques not only understand numbers as images and sounds, but also recognize numerals' abstract qualities.

The research, published in Cognition, offers evidence that animals have the foundations of math "very early on in the evolutionary line and early on in development," Jordan said.

Duke researcher Elizabeth Brannon said the study supports the concept that non-human primates can understand the meaning of numerals.

"Although monkeys don't have language, they can understand a symbol and what it refers to," she said.