Cultural diffusion occurs in chimpanzees

Abstract

MacDonald et al. (1) propose that Middle Pleistocene fire use signaled the onset of widespread cultural diffusion and that it was “the first clear evidence of the emergence of cultural diffusion in the evolution of humankind” and “a distinctive characteristic of the cultural behavior of Homo sapiens .” They attribute such diffusion to “tolerant intergroup encounters” that facilitate transmission. All three assertions are questionable, given extended findings by cultural primatologists studying humankind’s nearest living relative, the chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ). Primatological interest in cultural diffusion is longstanding (Fig. 1). Twenty years ago, Whiten et al. (2) proposed four models of cultural diffusion in living wild chimpanzees and provided evidence for them from eight study sites across Africa, from Senegal to Tanzania. They identified 39 cultural … [↵][1]1Email: wcm21{at}cam.ac.uk. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1