Abstract
Studies of chimpanzee tool-use at Bossou have utilized a unique field facility referred to as the “outdoor laboratory.” At this site, located within the Bossou group’s core area, researchers have been able to observe various forms of tool-use at close range, for extended periods at a time, and with reliable frequency within and across years. From these observations, we have gained valuable insights into developmental and cognitive aspects of tool-use in chimpanzees. In addition, field experiments on nut-cracking in particular have contributed to our understanding of mechanisms responsible for maintaining tool-use traditions within chimpanzee communities. Here I describe a series of experiments that aimed to explore issues of innovation as well as within- and between-community transmission in nut-cracking, with some generalizations to the question of culture in chimpanzees.
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Acknowledgments
The following researchers contributed to the experiments described in this chapter: Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Gen Yamakoshi, Noriko Inoue-Nakamura, Rikako Tonooka, Claudia Sousa, Misato Hayashi, and Susana Carvalho. Local guides at Bossou offered invaluable help. The author thanks the Royal Society for financial support.
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Biro, D. (2011). Clues to Culture? The Coula- and Panda-Nut Experiments. In: Matsuzawa, T., Humle, T., Sugiyama, Y. (eds) The Chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba. Primatology Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_18
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