期刊
BIOLOGY LETTERS
卷 7, 期 4, 页码 634-637出版社
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0088
关键词
technology; Congo Basin; tool use
资金
- Ministry of Forest Economy of the Republic of Congo
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- National Geographic Society
- Columbus Zoological Park
- Brevard Zoological Park
Chimpanzee tool behaviours vary dramatically in their complexity and extent of geographical distribution. The use of tool sets with specific design features to gather termites extends across a large portion of central Africa. Detailed examination of the composition and uniformity of such complex tool tasks has the potential to advance our understanding of the cognitive capabilities of tool users and processes underlying the maintenance of technological skills. In this study, we examined variation in chimpanzee tool use in termite gathering from video-recorded sequences that were scored to the level of functionally distinct behavioural elements. Overall, we found a high degree of similarity in tool-using techniques exhibited by individuals in this population. The number of elements in each individual's repertoire often exceeded that necessary to accomplish the task, with consistent differences in repertoire sizes between age classes. Adults and subadults had the largest repertoires and more consistently exhibited element strings than younger individuals. Larger repertoires were typically associated with incorporation of rare variants, some of which indicate flexibility and intelligence. These tool using apes aid us in understanding the evolution of technology, including that of our human ancestors, which showed a high degree of uniformity over large spatial scales.
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