The findings suggest that sharing attention through objects may be an evolutionary precursor to human language, culture and cooperation.
Observational field research was conducted in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, of 48 wild chimpanzees using a camera trap. The researchers found that the chimpanzees would pick up and show others a variety of objects, including rocks and leaves. In most cases, the objects were not food or tools, and there was no obvious reason for the chimpanzees to show them to others.
The researchers believe that the chimpanzees were simply sharing their attention with others as a way of connecting and bonding. This is similar to how humans might show a friend a picture of their new baby or a souvenir from a recent trip.
The study's findings support the theory that language and culture evolved from social behaviors that were originally used for non-communicative purposes. In other words, the ability to share attention and communicate through objects may have been a key step in the evolution of human language and cooperation.
"Our findings provide evidence for the deep evolutionary roots of human sociality and communication," said study co-author Dr. Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. "The ability to share attention through objects is a fundamental part of human communication, and it's likely that this behavior evolved in our common ancestor with chimpanzees."
The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.
