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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Chimpanzee tool technology in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo
Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 52, No. 4, Year 2007
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Description
With the exception of humans, chimpanzees show the most diverse and complex tool-using repertoires of all extant species. Specific tool repertoires differ between wild chimpanzee populations, but no apparent genetic or environmental factors have emerged as definitive forces shaping variation between populations. However, identification of such patterns has likely been hindered by a lack of information from chimpanzee taxa residing in central Africa. We report our observations of the technological system of chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle, located in the Republic of Congo, which is the first study to compile a complete tool repertoire from the Lower Guinean subspecies of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). Between 1999 and 2006, we documented the tool use of chimpanzees by direct observations, remote video monitoring, and collections of tool assemblages. We observed 22 different types of tool behavior, almost half of which were habitual (shown repeatedly by several individuals) or customary (shown by most members of at least one age-sex class). Several behaviors considered universals among chimpanzees were confirmed in this population, but we also report the first observations of known individuals using tools to perforate termite nests, puncture termite nests, pound for honey, and use leafy twigs for rain cover. Tool behavior in this chimpanzee population ranged from simple tasks to hierarchical sequences. We report three different tool sets and a high degree of tool-material selectivity for particular tasks, which are otherwise rare in wild chimpanzees. Chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle are shown to have one of the largest and most complex tool repertoires reported in wild chimpanzee populations. We highlight new insights from this chimpanzee population to our understanding of ape technological systems and evolutionary models of tool-using behavior. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sanz, Crickette M.
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Morgan, David B.
Congo, Brazzaville
Wildlife Conservation Society
United States, Chicago
Lincoln Park Zoo
Statistics
Citations: 218
Authors: 2
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.11.001
ISSN:
00472484
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Congo