A study was done by putting pairs of chimpanzees in a room with tools to get grapes out of a box and the goal was for them to work together and succeed in their task. They succeed with flying colors. Scientists found that the chimpanzees would work together, even swapping out tools with each other so they could accomplish the task more efficiently. This study shows evidence that chimpanzees aren't only able to intentionally coordinate actions among themselves, but are able to recognize when someone is in need and aid them. This skills are common among humans and now chimpanzees. Another study was held which revealed similar results. Chimpanzees are the closet related primates to humans and we are constantly learning more about them.
NOS Themes:
- Science is collaborative
- Science is based on evidence
- Importance of repeatability
- Role of credibility
- Role of motivation and curiosity
Article:
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/03/19/origins_of_human_teamwork_found_in_chimpanzees.html
Jack Nermyr
What an interesting article! I found another good article about how the chimpanzee brain is related to the human brain. It says that the main difference is rate of growth over time. Chimpanzees' brains continue growing at a fast rate over time, and learn quickly into their later years. Humans, in contrast, have very slow-growing brains and we are particularly vulnerable as babies, unlike chimps. It would be interesting to research more similarities and differences between Chimps and Humans.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I knew that chimps and orangutans would use tools in the fashion as a stick to test how deep water was so they wouldn't drown when wading through a river. I didn't know that chimps would exchange their technological advantages with one another. I was reading another related article and found out that some captive chimpanzees know ASL.
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