Population connectivity shapes the distribution and complexity of chimpanzee cumulative culture

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 chimpan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2024-11, Vol.386 (6724), p.920-925
Main 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
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Migration
Animals
Biological Evolution
Chimpanzees
Complexity
Cultural Evolution
Culture
Foraging behavior
Genetic Markers
Pan troglodytes - genetics
Population genetics
Populations
Social Behavior
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Summary: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 , resulting in irreversible dependence on cultural exchange and complexification.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adk3381