The chimpanzees have another point in common with us (and it is thanks to the females)

The chimpanzees. For example, our closest cousins in the animal kingdom, have long been studied for their social behavior, their use of tools and their interactions within their groups. However, a new study has just opened a fascinating perspective on an aspect hitherto little explored: cumulative culture. Moreover, This revolutionary study shows that as in humans. Similarly, chimpanzees are able to transmit complex behavior over the generations, and this in a structured manner. In addition, More surprising: this cultural transmission could be intimately linked to the migration of chimpanzee females.

The cumulative cultivation of chimpanzees – Chimpanzees have another point common

The culture cumulative is a fascinating phenomenon that designates the ability of a species to accumulate knowledge. Meanwhile, skills over time, with ideas and practices that are complicated and improve with each generation. Consequently, Among humans. Meanwhile, cumulative culture is the basis of our technological and scientific progress: our chimpanzees have another point common ancestors have transmitted knowledge and inventions through generations, which allowed each new generation to build on the achievements of the previous ones. Meanwhile, This phenomenon is not exclusive to our species, but it was difficult to observe in other animals.

Recently, a study was interested in the cultivation of chimpanzees and its transmission. Similarly, Culture among chimpanzees is not a recent concept. Furthermore, Long before this study, researchers already knew that these primates used tools. Nevertheless, the question was: how do these behaviors propagate within the groups? For example, And more importantly, why do some chimpanzee communities develop more complex behaviors than others?

One of the important elements of the study was the identification of more complex behavior in certain groups of chimpanzees. such as the use of several tools in combination (for example, sticks to catch termites or stones to break nuts). These behaviors did not seem to appear spontaneously; They chimpanzees have another point common required intergenerational transmission and a continuous refinement process.

In other words. as in humans, behaviors in chimpanzees are not simply imitated or reproduced; They accumulate and become more complex over time. This means that chimpanzees can build on the discoveries of their predecessors. thus creating more sophisticated tools and behaviors as generations pass.

The importance of females and their migration – Chimpanzees have another point common

THE chimpanzee females play a central role in the transmission of culture within groups. Indeed. in sexual maturity, they generally leave their native group to join other communities, thus creating a genetic flow between populations. This migration phenomenon also allows the spread of cultural behavior. because these migrant females can share the practices learned in their original group. Researchers have observed that more complex behaviors. such as the use of specific tools, are more likely to spread between groups when a migrant female integrates.

To understand this process, scientists used an innovative method called chimpanzees have another point common the genetic time machine. By studying the genetic data of chimpanzees over several generations. they were able to establish links between genetic mutations in migrant females and the spread of certain cultural behaviors. This approach made it possible to overcome the difficulties linked to the study of perishable tools by drawing the. evolution of cultural behavior through generations.

Genetic data have shown that in places such as Tai National Park in Ivory Coast. behaviors such as the use of stones to break nuts were stable and transmitted in the long term, especially when there were exchanges between groups by female migration. Thus, migrations play a crucial role in the dissemination and enrichment of cultural techniques in chimpanzees.

Cumulative culture in the context of social groups

The researchers highlighted a crucial aspect of chimpanzee societies: their. social structure. Unlike humans, chimpanzees have a strict social hierarchy and cultural behavior can be influenced by this hierarchy. A female who arrives in a new group may for example not have the possibility of transmitting her cultural. behavior if she is of lower social rank. This shows that cumulative cultivation in chimpanzees, although existent, can be fragile and dependent on social dynamics within groups.

The implications of this discovery for the study of human evolution

This discovery has deep implications not only for the study of chimpanzees. but also for understanding human evolution. chimpanzees have another point common If cumulative culture exists in our loved ones. it raises the question of whether this capacity was already present in our last common ancestor with chimpanzees, and if it has played a role in the evolution of our own cultural capacities.

The discovery of chimpanzees as carrying a cumulative cultivation also opens up interesting perspectives for studies on first human societies. in particular hunter-gatherers. By comparing the migration. propagation patterns of crops in chimpanzees and humans, researchers hope to better understand how culture has evolved in both species and what social factors have facilitated or hampered this evolution.