THE CULTURED CHIMPANZEE: REFLECTIONS ON CULTURAL PRIMATOLOGY

William McGrew (2004)

Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 0-521-53543-3 (paperback) £19.99/ $29.99

ISBN: 0-521-82841-4 (hardback) £50.00 / $90.00

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Bill McGrew has been studying chimpanzees for over thirty years in many parts of their range. In this, his latest book, he attempts to explain the level of behavioural diversity across chimpanzee populations using both the natural and social sciences and argues that this research can shed light on how our early ancestors lived.

The first chapter dwells on the levels at which chimpanzee behavioural diversity can be studied (subspecies, populations, social units and individuals), the uniqueness or otherwise of humans and the use of archaeology to explain cultures both human and, to a lesser extent, chimpanzee.

The author then discusses culture and what it means, concluding that there is no consensus for a clear definition of culture making it essential that the word is defined by the user’s own terms of reference.

The third chapter discusses how four disciplines; anthropology, archaeology, psychology and zoology all have a stake in the concept and study of culture. Social learning is discussed in detail in the next chapter and this phenomenon is reviewed using data from fish, birds, and mammals, in particular from research on cetaceans.

Capuchins, macaques and the great apes (excluding chimpanzees) are the most studied primates as far as the study of culture is concerned and this research is discussed in the following chapter. Due to the current paucity of relevant data from gorilla and bonobo studies only van Schaik’s data on orang utan tool use in food processing and nest construction are reviewed in detail.

Chapter six discusses the use of ethnographic methods, more often used for the study of human behaviour, as a valid means of studying behaviour in chimpanzees. An incredible 170 years worth of study can be totalled from the long-term chimpanzee field sites from which data could be extrapolated for an ethnographic record.

Chapter seven reviews chimpanzee material culture, a phenomenon that can be studied even in unhabituated populations. The universals of chimpanzee culture such as shelter construction are described, followed by types of culture which vary across populations such as subsistence faunivory and herbivory. This is followed by a review of social material culture such as leaf grooming and drumming followed by methods of self-maintenance including self-medication. The author sums up this chapter by making the point that no human society is without material culture and, at least in longer-term field studies, chimpanzees have also always been found to possess some kind of elementary technology.

The next chapter on chimpanzee society examines non-material culture such as vocal communication, grooming, the social scratch, the grooming handclasp and cross-species social traditions. Aspects of chimpanzee social life are then reviewed within the framework of terms more commonly used to define human social life/behaviour. Thus custom, institution, moré, rite/ritual, role/status, and finally taboo, may all have their counterparts in chimpanzee culture.

The author clearly states that the opinions in the penultimate chapter are his own and are based on his interpretation of the information in the book. He goes on to present 20 lessons he deems important to consider in the study of cultural primatology. The ultimate chapter reiterates the necessity of further research and the importance of conserving the chimpanzee throughout its range.

In summary, the review of various chimpanzee behaviours and differences between populations was very interesting. A map of the study site locations from which data was cited would have been useful. I enjoyed this book and found it informative and thought provoking. It should appeal not just to primatologists, but also to members of those disciplines mentioned earlier for whom the study of chimpanzee culture would be of interest.

Sian S. Waters

Conservation Zoologist