<P> A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech . Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body . Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention . Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak . </P> <P> Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language . In fact, language is thought by some scholars to have evolved in Homo sapiens from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures . The theory that language evolved from manual gestures, termed Gestural Theory, dates back to the work of 18th - century philosopher and priest Abbé de Condillac, and has been revived by contemporary anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the origin of language . </P> <P> Gestures have been studied throughout the centuries from different perspectives . During the Roman Empire, Quintilian studied in his Institution Oratoria how gesture may be used in rhetorical discourse . Another broad study of gesture was published by Englishman John Bulwer in 1644 . Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures and provided a guide on how to use gestures to increase eloquence and clarity for public speaking . Andrea De Jorio published an extensive account of gestural expression in 1832 . A peer reviewed journal Gesture has been published since 2001, and was founded by Adam Kendon and Cornelia Müller . The International Society for Gesture Studies (ISGS) was founded in 2002 . </P> <P> Gesture has frequently been taken up by researchers in the field of dance studies and performance studies in ways that emphasize the ways they are culturally and contextually inflected . Performance scholar, Carrie Noland, describes gestures as "learned techniques of the body" and stresses the way gestures are embodied corporeal forms of cultural communication . But rather than just residing within one cultural context, she describes how gesture migrate across bodies and locations to create new cultural meanings and associations . She also posits how they might function as a form of "resistance to homogenization" because they are so dependent on the specificities of the bodies that perform them . </P>

The study of the communicative aspects of gesture and bodily movement is known as