Publication
Title
Temporal stability of chimpanzee social culture
Author
Abstract
Culture is a hallmark of the human species, both in terms of the transmission of material inventions (e.g. tool manufacturing) and the adherence to social conventions (e.g. greeting mannerisms). While material culture has been reported across the animal kingdom, indications of social culture in animals are limited. Moreover, there is a paucity of evidencing cultural stability in animals. Here, based on a large dataset spanning 12 years, I show that chimpanzees adhere to arbitrary group-specific handclasp preferences that cannot be explained by genetics or the ecological environment. Despite substantial changes in group compositions across the study period, and all chimpanzees having several behavioural variants in their repertoires, chimpanzees showed and maintained the within-group homogeneity and between-group heterogeneity that are so characteristic of the cultural phenomenon in the human species. These findings indicate that human culture, including its arbitrary social conventions and long-term stability, is rooted in our evolutionary history.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Biology letters / Royal Society [Londen] - London
Related dataset(s)
Publication
London : 2021
ISSN
1744-9561 [print]
1744-957X [online]
DOI
10.1098/RSBL.2021.0031
Volume/pages
17 :5 (2021) , 6 p.
Article Reference
20210031
ISI
000656582700001
Pubmed ID
34034527
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Social climate and its impact on cooperation in bonobos and chimpanzees
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 28.06.2021
Last edited 21.11.2024
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