New research shows Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo, can track pretend objects, suggesting the roots of human imagination go back 6-9 million years to our common ancestor. #CognitiveEvolution #PrimateResearch #HumanOrigins www.primatology.net/p/a-bonobo-t...

New study of 500 wild primate teeth shows grooves once linked to ancient toothpicks can form naturally, while a common modern dental problem appears uniquely human. #Paleoanthropology #EvolutionaryMedicine #DentalAnthropology www.primatology.net/p/toothpick-...

Chimpanzee groups show that bigger can be better for sharing. New experiments reveal that tolerant groups with restrained leaders sustain shared resources longer, offering clues to the deep evolutionary roots of cooperation. #Primatology #HumanEvolution #Cooperation #BehavioralEcology

Spider monkeys do more than search for fruit. A seven-year study shows they swap “insider knowledge” by constantly reshuffling social groups, building a shared map of where and when trees ripen. Collective intelligence in action. #Primatology #AnimalBehavior #Evolution

Baby chimps take the biggest risks, not teens. A new study shows how early danger, falling bodies, and limited supervision shaped chimp behavior and may explain why humans delay risk until adolescence. #Anthropology #Evolution #Primatology #HumanOrigins www.primatology.net/p/when-baby-...

New research shows wild orangutans rely on cultural learning to master hundreds of foods. Without social guidance, simulated apes fail to develop full diets, revealing ancient roots of cultural accumulation. #Primatology #Culture #Evolution #Anthropology www.primatology.net/p/the-appren...

A long-term study of the Ngogo chimpanzees shows that lethal territorial aggression led to a 22 percent range expansion, doubled birth rates, and dramatically improved infant survival. Territorial gains shaped their evolutionary success. #Chimpanzees #Evolution #Primatology #PNAS

Scientists discover that chimpanzees and bonobos build layered social circles much like humans. The study hints at deep evolutionary roots for friendship, selectivity, and time-limited social bonds. #primatology #evolution #socialbehavior #anthropology www.primatology.net/p/circles-in...

Chimpanzees in Uganda show a capacity to weigh evidence and revise decisions, hinting at ancient roots of rational thought shared with humans. Science edges closer to Darwin’s idea of cognitive continuity. #primatology #cognition #evolution www.primatology.net/p/minds-in-t...

Young chimpanzees invent tools, modify adult techniques, and explore in ways that spark cultural change. New research suggests childhood curiosity may have fueled innovation long before Homo sapiens shaped history. #Anthropology #Primates #Evolution #Science www.primatology.net/p/the-little...

Female mountain gorillas in Bwindi live for years after their last birth, reshaping group life and stability. A study finds they may hold the evolutionary key to post-reproductive survival. #Primatology #BehavioralEcology #Gorillas #Evolution www.primatology.net/p/the-elder-...

New research shows that ancient “toothpick grooves” also occur in wild primates, suggesting they formed naturally—not from tool use. Even our oldest dental marks may be more biology than culture. #Anthropology #Dentistry #Evolution #Primates www.primatology.net/p/the-toothp...

We're heartbroken to share that Jane Goodall has died. She wasn't just a scientist; she was an iconoclast who showed the world that chimps have tool-making, complex emotions, and families... just like us. #JaneGoodall #Chimpanzees #Conservation #RootsAndShoots #Legend

Mushrooms aren’t just for humans. In Tanzania’s Issa Valley, baboons, chimpanzees & monkeys rely on fungi to navigate food scarcity—offering clues to early human diets. #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #Primates #Foraging www.primatology.net/p/how-primat...

New research suggests primates evolved in cold, seasonal habitats—not tropical forests. This climate-forged adaptability shaped the lineage leading to humans. #Anthropology #Archaeology #HumanEvolution #Primates #PNAS www.primatology.net/p/from-ice-t...

Wild chimps consume the equivalent of ~2 drinks daily from fermenting fruit. This new study links our alcohol tolerance to a deep primate past. #Chimpanzees #Evolution #Anthropology #AlcoholOrigins

Young Sumatran orangutans learn to build treetop nests by watching their mothers, proving that “know-how” and “know-what” pass culturally. Culture lives in the canopy. #Primatology #Orangutans #HumanEvolution

Humans and chimps don’t share 99% of their DNA after all. New genome research shows the difference may be closer to 15%, with regulatory switches—not proteins—shaping what makes us distinct. #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #Genomics

Lemurs didn’t diversify in one big leap. A new study finds multiple bursts of speciation—fueled by hybridization—shaped Madagascar’s primate diversity into the Pleistocene. What does this mean for evolution and conservation? #Anthropology #PrimateEvolution #Lemurs

A bonobo named Kanzi can mentally track multiple hidden caregivers—matching voices to faces and locations. A glimpse into the deep roots of social intelligence. #Bonobos #HumanEvolution #Anthropology #Primates #Primatology #PrimateBehavior

Chimpanzees learn to blend sounds and gestures from their mothers, not fathers. New research in Uganda suggests maternal “communication templates” shaped ape societies for millions of years. #Primates #HumanEvolution #Anthropology #Primatology #Chimpanzee #Linguistics #Communication

Female mountain gorillas choose new groups based on old friendships, often reuniting with familiar females after years apart—showing deep-rooted social bonds in our great ape cousins. #Primatology #Gorillas #AnimalBehavior

Primate teeth record daily histories of rainfall, drought, and dehydration. A new study shows how oxygen isotopes in enamel can reconstruct climate week by week, unlocking secrets of ancient migration. #Anthropology #Paleoecology #Primatology #TeethAsTimeCapsules

Why do humans feast and drink together? New research suggests it started 10 million years ago—when apes scrumped fermented fruits off the forest floor. 🍌🍷 #Anthropology #Primates #HumanEvolution #Feasting #Alcohol #Scrumping

New study on Issa Valley chimpanzees shows bipedalism may have evolved in trees, not just on the ground. Foraging needs in open woodlands kept apes climbing. Rethinking human origins? 🐒🌳 #HumanEvolution #Primatology #Anthropology #Archaeology #Bipedalism

Elderly wild chimpanzees show steep, uneven declines in tool use. A 17-year study finds aging affects not just strength but cultural memory. Could this mirror aging in early hominins? #Primates #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #ToolUse #Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees in Zambia have started a new trend: sticking blades of grass in their ears and butts. It’s not grooming. It’s fashion. And it's spreading. #Primates #AnimalCulture #Chimpanzee #SocialLearning #Primatology #PrimateCulture #AnimalBehavior

New primate research shows female dominance is not an exception but a recurring pattern in species with monogamy, arboreality, and less sexual dimorphism. Patriarchy may not be as "natural" as once thought. #Primates #Anthropology #GenderRoles @pnas.org

Chimp moms with strong female friendships are more likely to raise surviving babies—even without kin. New research from Gombe reshapes how we think about social bonds and infant survival. #Primates #Anthropology #Evolution #Gombe #Chimpanzees

Why do humans "baby talk"? A new study shows we're the only great ape that does so regularly—and it may have shaped the evolution of language. #PrimateCommunication #HumanEvolution #BabyTalk #Anthropology #Linguistics #CognitiveScience @carolinefryns.bsky.social @franziswegdell.bsky.social

Chimpanzees and preschoolers both choose social scenes over snacks—some even pay for the drama. This shared ‘nosey’ behavior hints at deep evolutionary roots in our lineage. #Primatology #ChildDevelopment #EvoAnthropology

Chimpanzees in West Africa strike stones against trees in rhythmic displays. Is it dominance? Culture? Long-distance calls? A new study hints at the roots of communication. #Chimpanzees #AnimalCulture #Primatology #Evolution #Sound

How did Mozambique’s baboons and vervets respond to Cyclone Idai? A new study shows primate resilience to extreme climate events—hinting at the evolutionary past of adaptability. #PrimateBehavior #ClimateChange #Gorongosa #Anthropology #Evolution

On a remote Panamanian island, capuchin monkeys are abducting howler infants—and no one knows why. Ritual? Innovation? Boredom? A haunting look into primate minds. #Primatology #MonkeyBehavior #Anthropology #Cognition #Capuchins #CurrentBiology @currentbiology.bsky.social

Thanks to Science News for including my thoughts on the ethics of ape-language experiments-- and a memory I have of time with wonderful Kanzi the bonobo-- in this piece. #Kanzi #apes #language #anthropology #ethics

Orangutans organize alarm calls using recursive rhythms—layered like Russian dolls—revealing cognitive roots of language once thought unique to humans. #Anthropology #Primates #LanguageEvolution #Orangutans #Recursion

Chimpanzees in Uganda treat wounds with leaves, bark & care—both for themselves & for others. New research suggests medicine’s roots run deeper into our evolutionary past than we imagined. #Chimpanzees #PrimateCare #AnimalMedicine #Anthropology #ProsocialBehavior @elodiefreymann.bsky.social

Wild chimpanzees don’t show disorganized attachment—but captive ones do. New research suggests our evolutionary past shaped caregiving in ways modern humans may be neglecting. #PrimateBehavior #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #AttachmentTheory

Chimpanzees combine calls to craft new meanings, modify messages, and even shift meaning with call order—echoes of human syntax in the rainforest. #Primates #LanguageEvolution #Anthropology #PanTroglodytes #Combinatorics

Chimpanzees don’t just drum—they groove with subspecies-specific rhythms that echo the earliest roots of music. New research uncovers how beat, identity, and social coordination emerged in our closest relatives. #Primates #Chimpanzees #HumanEvolution #MusicOrigins #AnimalCulture

Friendlier gorillas aren’t always healthier or more successful—it depends on their group. New 20-year study challenges our assumptions about friendship, fitness & evolution. #Anthropology #Gorillas #HumanEvolution #Primatology #SocialBehavior @pnas.org

Chimpanzees and bonobos both console distressed peers—young apes lead the way. Empathy, it turns out, runs deep across species lines and emerges early in life. #PrimateBehavior #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #Bonobos #Chimpanzees

Female bonobos forge alliances that grant them power over larger males, rewriting our ideas about dominance. A 30-year study shows coalition-building, not brute strength, holds the key. #Bonobos #Anthropology #HumanEvolution #Primatology

Wild chimpanzees in West Africa share fermented fruit—some containing alcohol. Could this behavior reveal the evolutionary origins of human feasting and social bonding? #Chimpanzees #Feasting #Anthropology #Ethanol #Evolution

Bonobos refuse to cooperate when rewards are unfair, showing signs of inequity aversion. Their reactions hint at ancient roots of fairness in primate social life. #Anthropology #Primatology #Bonobos #Fairness #HumanEvolution

Macaque mothers show restlessness—not grief—after infant death. What their response reveals about the evolution of emotion and mourning. #Anthropology #Primatology #Thanatology #Evolution

New, ultra-complete ape genomes reveal hidden genes & surprising differences from humans — challenging old ideas of evolution & gene regulation. #HumanEvolution #Anthropology #Genomics #Apes #DNA #EvolutionaryBiology

New World monkeys can hit notes human yodelers can't. A new study shows their “ultra-yodels” span octaves beyond our range—thanks to a vocal feature we lost long ago. #Primates #Bioacoustics #HumanEvolution #YodelScience

Bonobos don’t just make calls—they combine them in ways that mirror human language. A new study suggests our primate relatives may share deep evolutionary roots of compositional speech. #LanguageEvolution #Bonobos #PrimateCommunication

Recent research reveals gorillas possess self-awareness akin to chimpanzees, challenging previous assumptions about their cognitive abilities. #Primates #SelfAwareness #Cognition #Anthropology