Cultural Improvisation and Learning in Chimpanzees: An Analysis

This essay examines the cultural traditions of chimpanzees, focusing on their ability to culturally modify behaviors from one generation to the next. Drawing on the work of Christophe Boesch and Micheal Tomasello, the essay argues that chimpanzees perceive cultural traditions in their own way and exhibit modified behaviors towards their kin. The essay highlights concepts like mimesis and emulation, emphasizing the transmission of knowledge across generations, as seen in behaviors like nut cracking. It also notes increasing commonalities between the social culture and learning processes of chimpanzees and humans, suggesting cultural propensities between the two. The essay concludes that chimpanzees demonstrate the ability to improvise and apply cultural knowledge, similar to humans.

Running head: CULTURE AMONG CHIMPANZEES
TOPIC: CULTURE AMONG CHIMPANZEES
Name of the Student: Lovepreet Kaur
Student ID:200415730

1CULTURE AMONG CHIMPANZEES
This essay is an account of following cultural traditions by chimpanzees by Christophe
Boesch and Micheal Tomasello, eminent anthropologists. The given argument focuses that
chimpanzees have the ability of cultural modifications from one generation to other. The
author’s proposed argument states that chimpanzees also have the ability of perceiving
cultural traditions in their own way and showing modified behaviours towards their kins. This
article a brief summary of the cultural improvisations shown by chimpanzees. Mimesis is the
capacity of alerting oneself to contractual elements of reality with visual contracts. It is the
basic part of thinking alongside a confluence of factors leading to primitism (Taussig, 2018).
Emulation is similar where learning from environment occurs according to what others do.
The author propounds that transmission of knowledge occurs across generations among their
kins. Group interactions among chimps may lead to inheritance of the same behaviour like
cracking of nuts with the rock. Similarly, Hopper (2015) agrees with the proposed theory and
suggests that chimps follow the art of using tools and can solve problems via trial and error
learning .There are ever-increasing commonalities between social culture and learning of
chimpanzees and humans and a proof of the cultural propensities between the two (Whiten,
2017). Cultural traditions followed by chimpanzees are also similar to orang-utans (Renner et
al., 2017). Thus, the theory put forward by the scientists is correct and in accordance with the
nature of chimpanzees as they know improvisation of culture and can use them like human in
applied situations.

2CULTURE AMONG CHIMPANZEES
References
Hopper, L. M., Lambeth, S. P., Schapiro, S. J., & Whiten, A. (2015). The importance of
witnessed agency in chimpanzee social learning of tool use. Behavioural
processes, 112, 120-129.
Renner, E., Abramo, A. M., Hambright, M. K., & Phillips, K. A. (2017). Insightful problem
solving and emulation in brown capuchin monkeys. Animal cognition, 20(3), 531-536.
Taussig, M. (2018). Mimesis and alterity: A particular history of the senses. Routledge.
Whiten, A. (2017). Social learning and culture in child and chimpanzee. Annual Review of
Psychology, 68, 129-154.
Whiten, A., & Watson, S. K. (2018, October). Illuminating the Evolution of Cultural
Cognition Through Comparative Studies of Humans and Chimpanzees. In Diversity
in Harmony–Insights from Psychology: Proceedings of the 31st International
Congress of Psychology (pp. 164-187). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.