Social organization and the evolution of cumulative technology in apes and hominins

Journal of Human Evolution

Volumn 63, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 180-190

  Pradhan, Gauri R ^a,b   Tennie, Claudio ^c,d   van Schaik, Carel P ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH   (Switzerland)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA   (United States)

^c MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY   (Germany)

^d UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Cumulative cultural evolution; Great apes; Imitation; Innovation; Mathematical model; Ratcheting; Sociability

Indexed keywords

ALLOPARENTAL CARE; COGNITION; CULTURAL CHANGE; EVOLUTION; HOMINID; IMITATION; INNOVATION; LEARNING; NUMERICAL MODEL; PLEISTOCENE; PRIMATE; SOCIAL ORGANIZATION; TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION; TOOL USE;

HOMINIDAE; PAN; PONGO PYGMAEUS;

EID: 84863526824     PISSN: 00472484     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.04.008     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. Biro D., Inoue-Nakamura N., Tonooka R., Yamakoshi G., Sousa C., Matsuzawa T. Cultural innovation and transmission of tool use in wild chimpanzees: evidence from field experiments. Anim. Cogn. 2003, 6:213-223.
2. Boesch C. Is culture a golden barrier between humans and chimpanzee?. Evol. Anthropol. 2003, 12:82-91.
3. Boesch C., Head J., Robbins M.M. Complex tool sets for honey extraction among chimpanzees in Loango National Park, Gabon. J. Hum. Evol. 2009, 56:560-568.
4. Boesch C., Marchesi P., Marchesi N., Fruth B., Joulian F. Is nut cracking in wild chimpanzees a cultural-behavior?. J. Hum. Evol. 1994, 26:325-338.
5. Boyd R., Richerson P.J. Why culture is common, but cultural evolution is rare. Proc. Brit. Acad. 1996, 88:77-93.
6. Bramble D.M., Lieberman D.E. Endurance running and the evolution of Homo. Nature 2004, 432:345-352.
7. Bril B., Smaers J., Steele J., Rein R., Nonaka T., Dietrich G., Biryukova E., Hirata S., Roux V. Functional mastery of percussive technology in nut-cracking and stone-flaking actions: experimental comparison and implications for the evolution of the human brain. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2012, 367:59-74.
8. Burkart J.M., van Schaik C.P. Cognitive consequences of cooperative breeding in primates. Anim. Cogn. 2010, 13:1-19.
9. Byrne R.W. The Thinking Ape: Evolutionary Origins of Intelligence 1995, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
10. Byrne R.W., Tanner J.E. Gestural imitation by a gorilla: evidence and nature of the capacity. Int. J. Psych. Psychol. Ther. 2006, 6:215-231.
11. Caro T.M., Hauser M.D. Is there teaching in nonhuman animals?. Q. Rev. Biol. 1992, 67:151-174.
12. Carvalho S., Cunha E., Sousa C., Matsuzawa T. Chaines operatoires and resource-exploitation strategies in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) nut cracking. J. Hum. Evol. 2008, 55:148-163.
13. Claidière N., Sperber D. Imitation explains the propagation, not the stability of animal culture. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 2010, 277:651-659.
14. Coolidge F.L., Wynn T. The Rise of Homo sapiens: The Evolution of Modern Thinking 2009, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
15. Culotta E. Did modern humans get smart or just get together?. Science 2010, 328:164.
16. d'Errico F., Stringer C.B. Evolution, revolution or saltation scenario for the emergence of modern cultures?. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2011, 366:1060-1069.
17. Davidson I., McGrew W.C. Stone tools and the uniqueness of human culture. J. Roy. Anthropol. Inst. 2005, 11:793-817.
18. Deaner R.O., Isler K., Burkart J.M., van Schaik C.P. Overall brain size, and not encephalization quotient, best predicts cognitive ability across non-human primates. Brain Behav. Evol. 2007, 70:115-124.
19. Deaner R.O., van Schaik C.P., Johnson V. Do some taxa have better domain-general cognition than others? A meta-analysis of nonhuman primate studies. Evol. Psychol. 2006, 4:149-196.
20. de Heinzelin J., Clark J.D., White T., Hart W., Renne P., WoldeGabriel G., Beyene Y., Vrba E. Environment and behavior of 2.5-Million-year-old Bouri hominids. Science 1999, 284:625-629.
21. Dindo M., Stoinski T., Whiten A. Observational learning in orangutan cultural transmission chains. Biol. Lett. 2011, 7:181-183.
22. Dominguez-Rodrigo M., Serrallonga J., Juan J., Alcalá L., Luque L. Woodworking activities by early humans: a plant residue analysis on Acheulian stone tools from Peninj (Tanzania). J. Hum. Evol. 2001, 40:289-299.
23. Enquist M., Strimling P., Eriksson K., Laland K.N., Sjostrand J. One cultural parent makes no culture. Anim. Behav. 2010, 79:1353-1362.
24. Galef B.G. The question of animal culture. Hum. Nat. 1992, 3:157-178.
25. Gruber T., Muller M.N., Strimling P., Wrangham R., Zuberbuhler K. Wild chimpanzees rely on cultural knowledge to solve an experimental honey acquisition task. Curr. Biol. 2009, 19:1806-1810.
26. Gumert M.D., Kluck M., Malaivijitnond S. The physical characteristics and usage patterns of stone axe and pounding hammers used by long-tailed macaques in the Andaman Sea region of Thailand. Am. J. Primatol. 2009, 71:594-608.
27. Haidle M.N. Working-memory capacity and the evolution of modern cognitive potential: implications from animal and early human tool use. Curr. Anthropol. 2010, 51:S149-S166.
28. Harary F. Graph Theory 1969, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading.
29. Henrich J. Demography and cultural evolution: how adaptive cultural processes can produce maladaptive losses - the Tasmanian case. Am. Antiq. 2004, 69:197-214.
30. Herrmann E., Call J., Hernandez-Lloreda M.V., Hare B., Tomasello M. Humans have evolved specialized skills of social cognition: the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Science 2007, 317:1360-1366.
31. Hill K. Animal 'culture'. The Question of Animal Culture 2009, 269-287. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. K.N. Laland, B.G. Galef (Eds.).
32. Hill K., Boesch C., Goodall J., Pusey A., Williams J., Wrangham R. Mortality rates among wild chimpanzees. J. Hum. Evol. 2001, 40:437-450.
33. Hobaiter C., Byrne R.W. Able-bodied wild chimpanzees imitate a motor procedure used by a disabled individual to overcome handicap. PLoS ONE 2010, 5:e11959.
34. Hoppitt W.J.E., Brown G.R., Kendal R., Rendell L., Thornton A., Webster M.M., Laland K.N. Lessons from animal teaching. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2008, 23:486-493.
35. Hrdy S. Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding 2009, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
36. Isler, K., van Schaik, C.P. How our ancestors broke through the gray ceiling: comparative evidence for cooperative breeding in early Homo, Current Anthropology, in press.
37. Jaeggi A., Dunkel L., van Noordwijk M.A., Wich S.A., Sura A.A.L., van Schaik C.P. Social learning of diet and foraging skills by wild immature Bornean orangutans: implications for culture. Am. J. Primatol. 2010, 72:62-71.
38. Klein R. The Human Career: Human, Biological and Cultural Origins 2009, Chicago University Press, Chicago. third ed.
39. Krützen M., Willems E.P., van Schaik C.P. Culture and geographic variation in orangutan behavior. Curr. Biol. 2011, 21:1808-1812.
40. Lefebvre L., Reader S.M., Sol D. Brains, innovations and evolution in birds and primates. Brain Behav. Evol. 2004, 63:233-246.
41. Lehner S.R., Burkart J.M., van Schaik C.P. Can captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) be coaxed into cumulative build-up of techniques?. J. Comp. Psychol. 2011, 125:446-455.
42. Lonsdorf E.V., Eberly L.E., Pusey A.E. Sex differences in learning in chimpanzees. Nature 2004, 428:715-716.
43. Matsuzawa T. Chimpanzee intelligence in nature and in captivity: isomorphism of symbol use and tool use. Great Ape Societies 1996, 196-209. Cambridge University Press, New York. W.C. McGrew, L.F. Marchant, T. Nishida (Eds.).
44. Matsuzawa S., Biro D., Humle T., Inoue-Nakamura N., Tonooka R., Yamakoshi G. Emergence of culture in wild chimpanzees: education by master apprenticeship. Primate Origins of Human Cognition and Behavior 2001, 557-574. Springer, Tokyo. S. Matsuzawa (Ed.).
45. Meulman E.J.M., Sanz C.M., Visalberghi E., van Schaik C.P. The role of terrestriality in promoting primate technology. Evol. Anthropol. 2012, 21:58-68.
46. Mercader J., Panger M., Boesch C. Excavation of a chimpanzee stone tool site in the African rainforest. Science 2002, 296:1452-1455.
47. Nater A., Nietlisbach P., Arora N., van Schaik C.P., van Noordwijk M.A., Willems E.P., Singleton I., Wich S.A., Goossens B., Warren K.S., Verschoor E.J., Perwitasari-Farajallah D., Pamungkas J., Krutzen M. Sex biased dispersal and volcanic activities shaped phylogeographic patterns of extant orangutans (genus: Pongo). Mol. Biol. Evol. 2011, 28:2275-2288.
48. Nonaka T., Bril B., Rein R. How do stone knappers predict and control the outcome of flaking? Implications for understanding early stone tool technology. J. Hum. Evol. 2010, 59:155-167.
49. Oswalt W.H. An Anthropological Analysis of Food-Getting Technology 1976, John Wiley, New York.
50. Ottoni E., Izar P. Watching the best nutcrackers: what capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) know about others' tool-using skills. Evol. Anthropol. 2008, 17:171-178.
51. Powell A., Shennan S., Thomas M.G. Late Pleistocene demography and the appearance of modern human behavior. Science 2009, 324:1298-1301.
52. Price E.E., Lambeth S.P., Schapiro S.J., Whiten A. A potent effect of observational learning on chimpanzee tool construction. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 2009, 276:3377-3383.
53. Rapaport L.G., Brown R.B. Social influences on foraging behavior in young nonhuman primates: learning what, where, and how to eat. Evol. Anthropol. 2008, 17:189-201.
54. Reader S.M., Biro D. Experimental identification of social learning in wild animals. Learn. Behav. 2010, 38:265-283.
55. Reader S.M., Laland K.N. Social intelligence, innovation and enhanced brain size in primates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 2002, 99:4436-4441.
56. Sanz C.M., Morgan D.B. Chimpanzee tool technology in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. J. Hum. Evol. 2007, 52:420-433.
57. Sanz C., Morgan D. The complexity of chimpanzee tool using behaviors. The Mind of the Chimpanzee 2010, 127-140. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. E.V. Lonsdorf, S.R. Ross, T. Matsuzawa (Eds.).
58. Sanz C., Morgan D., Gulick S. New insights into chimpanzees, tools, and termites from the Congo Basin. Am. Nat. 2004, 164:567-581.
59. Sanz C.M., Schöning C., Morgan D.B. Chimpanzees prey on army ants with specialized tool set. Am. J. Primatol. 2009, 71:1-8.
60. Schick K.D., Toth N. Making Silent Stones Speak: Human Evolution and the Dawn of Technology 1993, Simon and Schuster, New York.
61. Schick K.D., Toth N., Garufi G., Savage-Rumbaugh S., Rumbaugh D., Sevcik R. Continuing investigations into the stone tool-making and tool-using capabilities of a bonobo (Pan paniscus). J. Archaeol. Sci. 1999, 26:821-832.
62. Schoenemann P.T. Evolution of the size and functional areas of the human brain. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2006, 35:379-406.
63. Semaw S., Renne P., Harris J.W.K., Feibel C.S., Bernor R.L., Fesseha N., Mowbray K. 2.5-million-year-old stone tools from Gona, Ethiopia. Nature 1997, 385:333-336.
64. Shennan S. Demography and cultural innovation: a model and its implications for the emergence of modern human culture. Camb. Archaeol. J. 2001, 11:5-16.
65. Singleton I., Wich S.A., Husson S., Stephens S., Utami-Atmoko S.A., Leighton M., Rosen N., Traylor-Holzer K., Lacy R., Byers O. Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment: Final Report 2004, IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialists Group, Apple Valley.
66. Stout D. Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2011, 366:1050-1059.
67. Tennie C., Call J., Tomasello M. Push or pull: imitation vs. emulation in great apes and human children. Ethology 2006, 112:1159-1169.
68. Tennie C., Call J., Tomasello M. Ratcheting up the ratchet: on the evolution of cumulative culture. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2009, 364:2405-2415.
69. Tennie C., Call J., Tomasello M. Evidence for emulation in chimpanzees in social settings using the floating peanut task. Plos One 2010, 5:e10544.
70. Tomasello M. The question of chimpanzee culture. Chimpanzee Cultures 1994, 301-318. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. R.W. Wrangham, W.C. McGrew, F.B.M. de Waal, P.G. Heltne, L.A. Marquardt (Eds.).
71. Tomasello M. The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition 1999, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
72. Tomasello M. The question of chimpanzee culture, plus postscript (Chimpanzee culture, 2009). The Question of Animal Culture 2009, 198-221. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. K.N. Laland, B.G. Galef (Eds.).
73. Tomasello M., Davis-Dasilva M., Camak L., Bard K.A. Observational learning of tool-use by young chimpanzees. Hum. Evol. 1987, 2:175-183.
74. Tomasello M., Kruger A.C., Ratner H.H. Cultural learning. Behav. Brain Sci. 1993, 16:495-552.
75. Toth N., Schick K. The Oldowan: the tool making of early hominins and chimpanzees compared. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2009, 38:289-305.
76. Uomini N.T. The prehistory of handedness: archaeological data and comparative ethology. J. Hum. Evol. 2009, 57:411-419.
77. van Noordwijk M.A., Sauren S.E.B., Nuzuar Abulami A., Morrogh-Bernard H., Utami Atmoko S.S., van Schaik C.P. Development of independence. Orangutans Compared: Geographic Variation in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation 2009, 189-203. Oxford University Press, Oxford. S.A. Wich, T. Mitra Setia, S.A. Utami Atmoko, C.P. van Schaik (Eds.).
78. van Schaik C.P. Among Orangutans: Red Apes and the Rise of Human Culture 2004, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
79. van Schaik C.P. Geographic variation in the behavior of wild great apes: is it really cultural?. The Question of Animal Culture 2009, 70-98. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. K.N. Laland, B.G. Galef (Eds.).
80. van Schaik C.P., Ancrenaz M., Borgen G., Galdikas B., Knott C.D., Singleton I., Suzuki A., Utami-Atmoko S.S., Merrill M.Y. Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture. Science 2003, 299:102-105.
81. van Schaik C.P., Burkart J.M. Mind the gap: cooperative breeding and the evolution of our unique features. Mind the Gap: Tracing the Origins of Human Universals 2010, 477-496. Springer, Berlin. P.M. Kappeler, J. Silk (Eds.).
82. van Schaik C.P., Burkart J.M. Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2011, 366:1008-1016.
83. van Schaik C.P., Deaner R.O., Merrill M.Y. The conditions for tool use in primates: implications for the evolution of material culture. J. Hum. Evol. 1999, 36:719-741.
84. van Schaik C.P., Fox E.A., Fechtman L.T. Individual variation in the rate of use of tree-hole tools among wild orang-utans: implications for hominin evolution. J. Hum. Evol. 2003, 44:11-23.
85. van Schaik C.P., Knott C. Geographic variation in tool use on Neesia fruits in orangutans. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2001, 114:331-342.
86. van Schaik C.P., Pradhan G.R. A model for tool-use traditions in primates: implications for the coevolution of culture and cognition. J. Hum. Evol. 2003, 44:645-664.
87. Wich S.A., Utami-Atmoko S.S., Mitra Setia T., Rijksen H.D., Schurmann C., van Hooff J.A.R.A.M., van Schaik C.P. Life history of wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). J. Hum. Evol. 2004, 47:385-398.
88. Whiten A., Goodall J., McGrew W.C., Nishida T., Reynolds V., Sugiyama Y., Tutin C.E.G., Wrangham R.W., Boesch C. Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature 1999, 399:682-685.
89. Whiten A., McGuigan N., Marshall-Pescini S., Hopper L. Emulation, imitation, over-imitation and the scope of culture for child and chimpanzee. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2009, 364:2417-2428.
90. Whiten A., Mesoudi A. Establishing an experimental science of culture: animal social diffusion experiments. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2008, 363:3477-3488.
91. Whiten A., Spiteri A., Horner V., Bonnie K.E., Schapiro S.J., de Waal F.B.M. Transmission of multiple traditions within and between chimpanzee groups. Curr. Biol. 2007, 17:1-6.
92. Whiten A., van Schaik C.P. The evolution of animal 'cultures' and social intelligence. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2007, 362:603-620.
93. Wright R.V.S. Imitative learning of a flaked tool technology: the case of an orangutan. Mankind 1972, 8:296-306.
94. Wyles J.S., Kunkel J.G., Wilson A.C. Birds, behavior, and anatomical evolution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 1983, 80:4394-4397.
95. Wynn T., Hernandez-Aguilar R.A., Marchant L.F., McGrew W.C. "An ape's view of the Oldowan" revisited. Evol. Anthropol. 2011, 20:181-197.
96. Yamamoto S., Yamakoshi G., Humle T., Matsuzawa T. Invention and modification of a new tool use behavior: ant-fishing in trees by a wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes virus) at Bossou, Guinea. Am. J. Primatol. 2008, 70:699-702.