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The Tool Repertoire of Bossou Chimpanzees

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The Chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba

Part of the book series: Primatology Monographs

Abstract

Chimpanzees in the wild make and use a diverse and rich kit of tools and, with the exception of humans, they are the only living primates to habitually or customarily use and make tools during their daily activities. Tool-use behavior in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has been observed at all field sites where chimpanzees have been studied. The Bossou chimpanzees (P. t. verus) display a large repertoire of tool-using behaviors, some of which are unique to this community. This chapter aims to present globally the diversity of tool-use behaviors of the Bossou chimpanzees, highlighting their age-class, sex, and temporal distribution, the diversity of domains in which they are observed, and patterns of hand use during tool manipulation. We also briefly discuss the relevance of tool use among Bossou chimpanzees to understanding innovation and cultural evolution in chimpanzees. Because each community of chimpanzees has a unique material cultural repertoire within the feeding, social, and hygiene domains, we also describe how the tool-use repertoire of the Bossou community differs from that recorded in other communities.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, in particular the Direction Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (DNRST) and the Institut de Recherche Environnementale de Bossou (IREB), for granting us over the years the permission to carry out research at Bossou. I am particularly grateful to Yukimaru Sugiyama and Tetsuro Matsuzawa, the founders of the research on chimpanzees at Bossou and Nimba, for their continual support and advice, and all colleagues and students from the Bossou research team for increasing over the years our understanding of tool use among the Bossou chimpanzees. Finally, I am forever grateful to the local villagers and all our local assistants at Bossou for all their hard work and their invaluable contributions and collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, The Marlowe Building, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK

    Tatyana Humle

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  1. Tatyana Humle
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Correspondence to Tatyana Humle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Tetsuro Matsuzawa Ph.D. (Professor Director) & Yukimaru Sugiyama Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus) (Professor Director) &  (Professor Emeritus)

  2. School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, The Marlowe Building, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK

    Tatyana Humle Ph.D.

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Humle, T. (2011). The Tool Repertoire of Bossou Chimpanzees. 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_7

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