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Building Babies pp 303–318Cite as

The Role of Mothers in the Development of Complex Skills in Chimpanzees

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Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR,volume 37))

Abstract

A contribution to: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects: Building Babies: Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives of Primate Developmental Trajectories. Compared to other mammals, primates experience long periods of pre-reproductive dependency. During this time, they acquire an astonishing array of skills, including how to find food, how to avoid predators, and in group-living species, how to navigate complex social situations. Chimpanzees are unique among primates with regards to the number and variety of tool-assisted skills present in their behavioral repertoire. The mechanisms by which these are acquired, and the extent to which behaviors are learned remain an important area of research. Several recent studies have focused on how young chimpanzees develop complex, tool-assisted foraging techniques. These include studies of nut-cracking (reviewed in Biro et al. 2003), termite-fishing (Lonsdorf 2005), and ant-dipping (Humle et al. 2009), all of which present strong evidence that social learning plays a key role in the development of these behaviors. The role of mothers in the development of these behaviors is particularly important, since chimpanzee offspring remain with their mothers well after they have become nutritional dependent. Evidence from the field suggests that rather than actively teaching or facilitating their young, chimpanzee mothers simply tolerate close observation, and individuals may vary in how tolerant they are. This chapter will review what is known about the role of mothers in the development of complex skills in both wild and captive chimpanzees and suggest new directions for future research.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Tatyana Humle, Crickette Sanz, Julienne Rutherford, Katie Hinde, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that greatly improved this manuscript. Thanks are also due to Emma Finestone for editorial assistance. The Leo S. Guthman Foundation provided financial support during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA

    Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf

  2. Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College, 3003, Lancaster, PA, 17604-3003, USA

    Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf

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  1. Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf
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Correspondence to Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, 109 Davenport Hall, M/C 148, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Kathryn B.H. Clancy

  2. , Department of HUman Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Katie Hinde

  3. , Comparative Primate Biology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, 60612, Illinois, USA

    Julienne N. Rutherford

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Lonsdorf, E.V. (2013). The Role of Mothers in the Development of Complex Skills in Chimpanzees. In: Clancy, K., Hinde, K., Rutherford, J. (eds) Building Babies. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects, vol 37. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4060-4_14

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