But don't underestimate these furry, lipstick-smeared thespians. Far from the broadcast jungle's lowbrow hijinks, wild chimpanzees develop rich sets of cultural traditions that have much in common with human culture, according to a synthesis of decades of field observations. Other than humans, only chimps show a documented penchant for passing on styles of tool use, grooming and other behaviors through teaching and imitation, contends a group of researchers led by Andrew Whiten of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The mix of cultural traditions varies across chimp communities, add the scientists, including famed chimp researcher Jane Goodall of Tanzania's Gombe Stream Research Centre in Kigoma. Such assertions have long inspired debate over the nature of culture.
Some scientists define culture as a product of language and thus unique to humans.
Whiten's team focused on seven groups of common chimps observed in Africa for periods ranging from 8 to 38 years. Careful review of studies yielded 39 such behaviors that were potentially available to all the communities. Chimps' cultural traditions included cracking nuts by using pieces of wood as hammer and anvil, sucking ants off sticks, clasping a comrade's arms overhead, and slapping tree branches to get attention. Whether such acts spread via imitation or other learning is unclear, Whiten says. Scientists also know little about how chimps invent traditions.