Population connectivity shapes the distribution and complexity of chimpanzee cumulative culture.
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Although cumulative culture is a hallmark of hominin evolution, its origins can be traced back to our common ancestor with chimpanzees. Here, we investigated the evolutionary origins of chimpanzee cumulative culture and why it remained incipient. To trace cultural transmission among the four chimpanzee subspecies, we compared population networks based on genetic markers of recent migration and shared cultural traits. We show that limited levels of group connectivity favored the emergence of a few instances of cumulative culture in chimpanzees. As in humans, cultural complexification likely happened in steps, with transmission between populations, incremental changes, and repurposing of technologies. We propose that divergence in social patterns led to increased mobility between groups in the genus Homo, resulting in irreversible dependence on cultural exchange and complexification.
Source: Apollo (University of Cambridge)
DOI: 10.17863/cam.120255
Authors: Gunasekaram, Cassandra, Battiston, Federico, Sadekar, Onkar, Padilla-Iglesias, Cecilia, van Noordwijk, Maria A, Furrer, Reinhard, Manica, Andrea, Bertranpetit, Jaume, Whiten, Andrew, van Schaik, Carel P, Vinicius, Lucio, Migliano, Andrea Bamberg
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Universität Zürich
OpenAlex ID: W6906563968
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