Primate Culture The meaning behind Culture
Culture in this case essentially means a specific behavior obtained through learning in a population/species. Although there have been several definitions for culture, they are different in their description of underlying transmission mechanisms. Fragaszy and Perry define the tradition, the core component of every definition of animal culture, as “a distinctive behavior pattern shared by two or more individuals in a social unit, which persists over time and that new practitioners acquire in part through socially aided learning.” (Lamon, 2017, p. :1). Despite the fact laboratory studies are vital in order to acquire useful information about culture in primates; it also places the primates in a stricter,
108).
Cultural behavior in tools (kin based culture)
The primate’s intelligence is extraordinary considering how they connect with their environment to survive in everyday life. The ability to learn to use tools to improve the primate’s life is an example of culture and how they survive. One of the tools used in primates is moss-sponging. Primates will gather moss and use it as a sponge to soak up water and drink from it. This behavior was displayed by an alpha male upon which spread rapidly through spatiotemporal association to another seven individuals (Lamon, 2017, p. 1). In the Sonso community, the Primates would take moss and place them in water and use them to drink from. “The goal of the study was to investigate the mechanisms of maintenance of moss-sponging in a wild chimpanzee community following initial emergence and rapid spread among a restricted number of individuals in 2011,” (Lamon, 2017, p. 2). The manufacturing of a leaf-sponge to drink from (“Clay-pit leaf-spongers”) (Lamon, 2017, p. 2), was added to the primates traditional technique of (“clay- pit moss-spongers”). During
108), however in the M-group, in Mahale, that the grooming hand-clasp appeared in at least one captive chimpanzee colony (Uehara, 2004, p. 108). The importance between the different types of hand-clasp grooming is crucial to determine the behaviors among cultures in primates. The objective was to test Mcgrew and colleagues’ idea that the palm-to-palm hand-clasp is custom of K-group and not of M-group (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). In some cases during the grooming the primates would stretch their arms and hold hands (palm-to-palm hand-clasp), but the primates also used other methods of grooming, such as stretching their arms and holding their wrists, or draping their arms over each other during the grooming process. (See images in (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). The study was to show whether or not those who used the grooming hand-clasp with three different partners demonstrated the same tendencies regardless of the partner (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). The results showed the majority of the K-group performed the palm-to-palm hand-clasps more often than M-group. During the observation, “the angle of the wrist in most cases concluded as either straight of flexed in approximately 91% of primates. In the Angle of
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.
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.
"Primate Social Relationships: Adults and Infants." Primate Social Relationships: Adults and Infants. N.p., Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Humans are not the only species with the ability of making tools. Early on in her research, Jane Goodall observed an older male chimp, she called him David Greybeard. Through her observation of David, she witnessed two forms of the use of tools. The first was the use of grass as a tool to extract termites from their mounds. The second was the making of a tool by stripping the leaves off a twig, modifying it for the same purpose. When Louis Leakey heard this, he wrote her “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or except chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 2002). There is a definite correlation between man and chimps in this respect. Human culture involves learned behaviors through observation, imitation and practice, the use of tools with chimpanzees show the same ability for learned beh...
Primates, any placental mammal of the order Primates, normally having flexible hands and feet and, in the higher apes, a highly developed brain (“Primate”, 2016), have been one of the most popular animals and prominent attractions in zoos.
Quiatt, D., & Reynolds, V. (1993). Primate behaviour: information, social knowledge, and the evolution of culture. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press].
There has been an age long debate to whether or not primates have culture. This is based on the idea that primates may have certain behaviors that our taught rather than already being programmed in their minds biologically. Some would argue that a certain action that a primate does wouldn’t necessarily be something that primate was born knowing; but others would argue that it was something that was something they knew in their subconscious mind. Notable arguments that would be in favor of culture in primates would include their use of tools, how a primate eats, and how they interact; arguments against the theory of culture in primates would proclaim that a primate’s habits are determined biologically and not affected by outside sources.
I recently learned about Social Scratch. Everyone scratches because it relives and irritation. We do it absentmindedly and so do apes. What I found interesting is that is become more of a social grooming. Unlike grooming where each ape is grooming each other silmutanesoiuly, in social scratching only the gromee is getting the benefit. These apes do this because of the “I know you know” on other words you scratch my back I scratch yours. (McGrew 136). I found this happening very often among the chimps more than the gorillas. I also noticed that they would pull their hair and they had many bald spots throughout their body. Why is that? I still haven’t discovered an answer, but I would like to know the reasoning behind
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.
B.M.de Waal, Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior Can Tell Us about Human Social Evolution. Havard University Press: Massachusets, 2001.
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...
Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaningful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.