Symbolic communication is exchange of messages that change a priori expectation of events. Examples of this are modern communication

Communication

Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

 technology as also exchange of information amongst animals.

In animal societies, symbolic communication helps one understand the conduct of members of cooperating groups. The behavior of weaver ant

Weaver ant

Weaver ants or Green ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae . Weaver ants are obligately arboreal and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk...

 workers has been carefully studied and it has been found that communicative gestures with respect to members of the same colony

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 are different than those used with intruders. The interpretation of the symbolic dance of honey bee

Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...

s as a communicative language has been questioned by a few, though numerous experimental results over the last several decades have effectively laid this controversy to rest. See: Bee learning and communication

Bee learning and communication

Honey bees learn and communicate in order to find food sources and for other means.-Learning:Learning is essential for efficient foraging. Honey bees are unlikely to make many repeat visits if a plant provides little in the way of reward...

See also: animal communication

Animal communication

Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. The study of animal communication, is sometimes called Zoosemiotics has played an important part in the...

.

By referring to objects and ideas not present at the time of communication, a world of possibility is opened. In humans, this process has been compounded to result in our current state of modernity.