Title
Chapter Title: Tool Use (Apes)
Book Title: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology
Author(s)
Musgrave, Stephanie; Sanz, Crickette M.
Published
2017
Abstract
Great apes use a diverse array of objects to effect change in various ecological and social contexts; these tool behaviors offer invaluable insights into the advanced skills characterizing the hominoid clade in both the physical and social realms. Chimpanzees are exceptional in that every studied population manufactures and uses tools in natural settings. Wild orangutans and bonobos employ a much more limited tool repertoire, and gorilla tool use is rare. Studies within laboratories, sanctuaries, and zoos have confirmed that all great apes are capable tool users. Field research and captive experiments provide complementary insights into the environmental, social, and cognitive factors shaping differences in tool behavior between and within species. At the forefront of this research is the interdisciplinary endeavor to understand the rich system of social inheritance underlying the transmission and maintenance of tool traditions among great apes, which is integral to modeling the evolution of material culture.
Keywords
behavior;behavioral ecology;cognition;ecology
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PUB21147