Researchers have discovered that bonobos can combine different calls to create new meanings, a more modest version of the human language ability. The team analyzed 700 vocalizations from wild bonobo groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and found three combinations that appeared to convey nuanced messages. These findings suggest that bonobos may have inherited the ability to combine units of language from their common ancestor with humans around 7 million years ago, providing a precursor to human language capacity.
Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/uniquely-human-language-capacity-found-bonobos