More handpicked essays just for you.
Similarities between humans and chimpanzees
Similarities between humans and chimpanzees
Chimpanzee and bonobobo phenotypic differences
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Similarities between humans and chimpanzees
After watching the TED talk from Susan Savage-Rumbaugh on “The gentle genius of bonobos” I had a great interest in the bonobo species. Before watching this video, I had already prior knowledge to the human species being related to the primate species, but never knew how closely we are to bonobos. I used to think chimpanzees were the closest but bonobos can walk in a similar movement to humans, closer than chimpanzees can. I realized how smart bonobos are, as they were able to carry out human related tasks. For example, one bonobo was able to build and start a fire in the woods. I found it interesting that the bonobo used a lighter to start the fire just like a human. Another example, was when one bonobo was learning to drive a golf cart, which
Dr. Goodall is a well-known British primatologist who has discovered a substantial amount about primates in her many years of research. She has written numerous books, including one that we will be going into depth about called, “Through a Window.” Her book contains personal experiences, research findings, and even pictures to help the readers visualize her scientific breaking moments from her thirty years with the chimpanzees of Gombe. She states that there is are minor differences, and several similarities between humans and the chimpanzees. We will discuss these differences and similarities through their social behavior, intellectual ability, and emotions. To conclude, examine Goodall’s research to adopt what her findings can tell us about our early ancestors, and whether or not her study coincided to the steps of scientific methodology.
Chapter one of “The Bonobo And The Atheist” was rather interesting. De Waal focusing primarily on chimps studied morality. Now what is morality? Morality in short is having an understanding of right and wrong. Human beings have an understanding of right and wrong due to our beliefs and our teachings growing up. De Waal explains animals and humans do not share these common beliefs and he focuses his area of study on perhaps why they show signs of morality much like humans do. Humans are usually shaped around their specific religion, they have an understanding of god and the commandments so on and so forth. This is the case for me because I grew up in a very traditional roman catholic family. From a very young age I was forced to go to church
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
Quiatt, D., & Reynolds, V. (1993). Primate behaviour: information, social knowledge, and the evolution of culture. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press].
In her article “In the Bonobo World, Female Camaraderie Prevails,” Natalie Angier describes primatologists’ findings about bonobos, both in captivity and in the wild. Bonobos and chimpanzees are humans’ closest relatives. Chimpanzees and bonobos, not surprisingly, are sister species, but their behavioral patterns and societal structures are significantly different. Chimpanzees form patriarchal groupings in which female friendship or alliance is uncommon. They’re aggressive prone to violence among themselves. Bonobos “[defy] the standard primate rulebook.” The bonobos form matriarchal groups in wherein female bonobos “often [band] together to fend off male aggression.” The bonobos also use sexual contact as a means by which to settle disagreements, ease tensions, and show respect. Angier writes about the bonobos through a heavily human lens; she describes pacts, “girl-on-girl frottage”, sorority, and matchmaking. This creative license undercuts the very real scientific research Angier describes, making it difficult upon the first reading to discern fact from anthropomorphized fiction. However, upon rereading it becomes evident that bonobos and chimps actually
It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome factor of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet.
Other major differences between chimps and bonobos include their speaking, tool use, and land-based nature. For example, bonobos have higher-pitched voices, and chimps tend to beep, scream, and murmur. Finally, while chimps are known to use tools to crack nuts, collects ants, and clip leaves, bonobos have only rarely used tools in captured in
Apes have over and over again surpassed other primates in comprehension tests carried out in the laboratory. They are capable of reacting to stimuli in an appropriate manner. Researchers have measured intelligence in primates in a number of situations in an effort to determine the level of cognition these primates possess. Russon and Begun, researchers who have explored ape intelligence state, “In the physical domain, great apes do use tools in ways that require their grade of cognition but they devise equally complex manual techniques and solve equally complex spatial problems” (Russon and Begun 2004). Apes have the abilit...
We all can agree that humans share lots of similarities with Apes in general, from walking upright to their use of tools, also a feature that humans and apes are differentiated by
This way of life is found to be very similar to the way nonhuman primates live. The kinship between smaller communities of nonhuman primates is also very similar to the formation of human social groups. Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest ancestors, and their pair-bonding mating system and societal organization shows similarities in humans. Kinship between nonhuman primates shows many forming primate groups in relation to an in increase in survival and reproduction. These nonhuman primates form groups in order for reproduction and stability which is a very similar human trait. These nonhuman primate groups allow advancements in food production and the sharing of food. The way nonhuman primates manage and disperse their food is a very similar human trait. There are many similar communication aspects found in chimpanzees that are similar to humans. Their use of communication allows for successful bonding, food production, and cooperation within the species. They have ability to show These cognitive skills are found in human evolution, but at a more advanced level. Tool making is another trait found in chimpanzees that is in relation to humans. The cooperation among nonhuman primates, many come from the monkey
In the article Dim Forest, Bright Chimps it talks about how close chimpanzees are to humans in terms of ingenuity. The authors first start the article by explaining how chimps would use stones or branches to crack open different types of nuts and how the chimpanzees know the right tool for the job. From here they go on to talk about how these chimpanzees would work as a group to hunt monkeys and that these chimps have a different method of hunting than other chimps. The last thing the authors talks about is how similar to humans chimps are when it comes to sharing food, using tools to get a job done, and working together to hunt. The article itself uses the group of chimps studied by the authors and the work of a person known as Jane Goodall to support their thoughts. This is relevant to human evolution because it tries to relate how our early hominid ancestors and chimpanzees were not that far apart in terms of behaviour.
To begin, "The Gentle Genius of Bonobos" is a lecture given by Susan Savage-Rumbaugh, which describes the human-like behavior Bonobos seem to exhibit. Bonobos live around the Congo in Africa, and unfortunately do not appear much in zoos due to their intense human-like sexual behavior. This behavior however is a profound one in the ape culture, because Bonobos use it in multiple areas in their lives, such as communication and conflict resolution. Another similarity between humans and Bonobos is their body structure. Both species seem to stand "upright," which allows for better movement, such as walking bipedal. Susan Savage-Rumbaugh introduces Kanzi, a Bonobo whom she studied and interacted with. The video within this lecture illustrates Kanzi
While taking the biological anthropology course at the University of Arkansas, I have learned the extent of primate patterns and behaviors, most importantly, in relation to human behavior and social interaction. There is one primate that single-handedly relates to humans in terms of human characteristics such as sexual behavior, how they handle aggression, their psychological demeanor, movement, and socialization. The pygmy chimpanzee, also known as the bonobo, is this particular primate. The bonobo is known for their ability to resolve problems with in their life through sexual intercourse. I chose this topic because I find this fascinating, seeing as how I have already written a research paper on human development and sexual interaction between different human cultures. This paper investigates bonobos as incredible creatures in comparison to human beings in every aspect socially with conflict resolution and psychologically with how they mentally observe their surroundings with a lot of consideration of their environment. The bonobo, Pan paniscus, typically associate better with the opposite sex. I have found in my research, while reading “Cooperation in Primates and Humans”, that the males often form closer bonds with females (Kappeler 34). This could be because of the sexual aspect of it, or because females are dominate in this species. The maternal groups are primarily ran by the females when given the opportunity for food or order to the rest of the group. In human history, patriarchal societies were formed by nature and have evolved giving females more rights and opportunities now that modernization has taken place. That being said, humans and bonobos do differ this way.