Chimpanzees ape their peers
CAPTION: Techniques were passed on throughout communities through observation. CREDIT: Drawing by Amy Whiten.
Search by tag: andrew whiten
Apes ‘ape’ more rationally than humans
When we describe someone 'aping' someone else, it implies they are mindlessly copying them. This does apes a disservice, according to a recent study by scientists from the University of St Andrews. In fact, it's the young members of our own species who are more likely to 'ape' their elders without too much thought.
£1.6m ‘living links’ to human evolution
CAPTION: An important mission of the new Study Centre will be to make experimental studies of primate behaviour, like tool use, accessible to the general public.
A virtual field trip into the wild
CAPTION: A screen capture of the computer simulation which will allow visitors to make a lightning "virtual field trip" to two different wild chimpanzee communities. CREDIT: Steve Smart
Do humans ‘own’ culture?
Experts in evolution and animal behaviour will gather next week to debate whether chimpanzee 'culture' is any less real than human culture - the outcome of which may lead to a rethink of the human evolution process.
Funding for new chimpanzee culture study
CAPTION: Researcher Sarah Marshall teaches a young chimp how to crack nuts with a hammer stone at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Uganda.
New insight into chimpanzee behaviour
Chimpanzees display some of the same cultural diversity as people, according to two of the world's leading primate experts.
Appointments to the British Academy
Two University of St Andrews Professors have been elected Fellows of the British Academy.
Child vs Chimp
A primate expert has developed an innovative technique which is providing the first clear evidence that children and chimpanzees learn the traditions of the community they live in by similar processes of imitation.