A study by the University of Zurich has discovered new information on the evolution of chimpanzee culture and behavior. The discovery suggests that some advanced behaviors exhibited by chimpanzees may have been passed down throughout different generations. Published in Science, this research took a different approach as it was multidisciplinary, meaning it was conducted by a team of specialists who are masters at specific topics. The study involved primatologists, physicists, and geneticists from various European institutions. The study focused on tracing the genetic links between chimpanzee populations from thousands of years to discover crucial information about chimpanzees' cultural history.
The research team collected information on genetic markers and foraging behaviors from 35 different African study sites. The scientist then categorized the observed behaviors into three categories: those who showed behaviors of no tools while foraging, those who used simple tools during foraging, and the most complex behavior of those using toolsets to assist in foraging. A discovery was made that the most complex chimpanzee technology uses toolsets to help with foraging for food and was linked between separate populations, all being very distant from one another. These findings suggest that populations of chimpanzees barely create this rare technique of using toolsets; this technique would be even less likely for the chimpanzees to reinvent themselves, making these behaviors of using toolsets more likely to be transmitted between different populations of Chimpanzee.
This study provides evidence that chimpanzees were able to quickly grow a culture around them in the early stages of development. The research also reiterates the importance of female migrations to avoid inbreeding. The migrating female chimpanzees spread around this new culture, developing advanced behaviors like using complete toolsets. These findings challenge the already well-known hypothesis that humans can create a more sophisticated culture over generations. More research should be done to observe if other mammal populations have developed more advanced cultures than similar populations.
Links
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241127135912.htm
https://www.iflscience.com/groundbreaking-genetic-time-machine-reveals-evidence-of-cumulative-culture-in-chimpanzees-76918
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