Skip to content

Nature

Chimp throwbacks

by Dave Armstrong 01 Dec 2011
Chimp throwbacks

Chimpanzee via Shutterstock

Human evolution seems to have begun with tools, language and hunting. Now it seems the silver medallist in these events is catching us up. Chimpanzees have long been recorded throwing with great accuracy in zoos as well as in the wild. For example, a chimp called Santino has been recorded as hiding stones out of sight from zoo staff and throwing them at visitors in a pre-planned campaign! Faeces and food are often used by other captive chimps in the significantly pre-planned behaviour. In the wild, too, humans or other chimps are targets, and never food species.

Previous interest in throwing by the chimpanzee has centred on the "cerebral plasticity" associated with chimps that learn to throw accurately. They develop larger cerebella (hind-brain). This study scanned white and grey matter of 78 captive chimps in the hope of locating increased WM (white matter) in those who learned to throw. Chimp "sophistication" and intelligence were also investigated. Various tests based on those given to children were carried out in the investigation. These were on spatial memory, invisible displacement of a food reward and causality of noise and visual stimuli. Cognition and comprehension tests concluded the physical examination.

chimpanzee who is throwing a pipe towards a human

Four frames that demonstrate a chimpanzee who is throwing a pipe towards a human in a tower above the subject. The chimpanzee stands, brings the PVC pipe back, and throws the object. Note that the force of the chimpanzee's throw actually causes him to leave the ground. This reflects the whole body function of throwing; Credit: Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B

Results produced the expected greater extent of white matter for throwing individuals. These individuals may have already had that amount of WM before the experiment, but the implication is there. Inferences of an associated connectivity change within the cerebral cortex were also found. The evolution of language and speech is thought to be associated with neural adaptations specifically gained from throwing, so this paper adds to that evidence. In a somewhat similar way, throwers were also found better at communication tasks, leading to a more successful competitiveness. However the chicken and egg situation comes to mind. We do not know which came first.

Other species have been investigated, but only chimpanzees seem to have underlying cognition associated with throwing ability. Their left cerebral hemisphere was probably specialised for planning complex motor actions before the proposed human/chimpanzee ancestor evolved. Aimed throwing may have changed our neural architecture and then aided in speech and language pre-disposition.

Fascinating conjecture from "man's closest relative." Obviously the research could gain much more from extending these experiments to solve find several answers such as that chicken and egg problem. And that reward the chimp gets when he harasses visitors with his "wicked" planning!


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping