1
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Pisor AC, Borgerhoff Mulder M, Smith KM. Long-distance social relationships can both undercut and promote local natural resource management. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220269. [PMID: 37952627 PMCID: PMC10645093 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The management of large common-pool resources, like fisheries and forests, is more difficult when more people and more communities can access them-a particular problem given increased population sizes, higher mobility and globalized trade in the Anthropocene. Social relationships spanning communities, such as kin relationships, business or trade relationships and friendships, can make management even more challenging by facilitating and transmitting norms of overharvesting. However, these long-distance relationships can also bolster management by transmitting norms for sustainability, promoting interdependence and laying the groundwork for nested management systems. Here, we review the negative and positive impacts of long-distance relationships on local natural resource management (NRM), providing illustrative examples from our field research on forest and fisheries management in Tanzania. Drawing on the evolutionary literature, the development literature and our field data, we offer suggestions for how development partners can avoid the pitfalls of long-distance relationships and how they can use or even deliberately foster long-distance relationships to promote successful local NRM. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C. Pisor
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, 87506, NM, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Davis, Davis, 95616, CA, USA
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2
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Cauret CMS, Jordan DC, Kukoly LM, Burton SR, Anele EU, Kwiecien JM, Gansauge MT, Senthillmohan S, Greenbaum E, Meyer M, Horb ME, Evans BJ. Functional dissection and assembly of a small, newly evolved, W chromosome-specific genomic region of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010990. [PMID: 37792893 PMCID: PMC10578606 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic triggers for sex determination are frequently co-inherited with other linked genes that may also influence one or more sex-specific phenotypes. To better understand how sex-limited regions evolve and function, we studied a small W chromosome-specific region of the frog Xenopus laevis that contains only three genes (dm-w, scan-w, ccdc69-w) and that drives female differentiation. Using gene editing, we found that the sex-determining function of this region requires dm-w but that scan-w and ccdc69-w are not essential for viability, female development, or fertility. Analysis of mesonephros+gonad transcriptomes during sexual differentiation illustrates masculinization of the dm-w knockout transcriptome, and identifies mostly non-overlapping sets of differentially expressed genes in separate knockout lines for each of these three W-specific gene compared to wildtype sisters. Capture sequencing of almost all Xenopus species and PCR surveys indicate that the female-determining function of dm-w is present in only a subset of species that carry this gene. These findings map out a dynamic evolutionary history of a newly evolved W chromosome-specific genomic region, whose components have distinctive functions that frequently degraded during Xenopus diversification, and evidence the evolutionary consequences of recombination suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline M. S. Cauret
- Biology Department, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Danielle C. Jordan
- Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering and National Xenopus Resource, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts United States of America
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah R. Burton
- Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering and National Xenopus Resource, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts United States of America
| | - Emmanuela U. Anele
- Biology Department, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department Zoology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Jacek M. Kwiecien
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marie-Theres Gansauge
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Eli Greenbaum
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marko E. Horb
- Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering and National Xenopus Resource, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts United States of America
| | - Ben J. Evans
- Biology Department, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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3
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Redhead D, Maliti E, Andrews JB, Borgerhoff Mulder M. The interdependence of relational and material wealth inequality in Pemba, Zanzibar. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220288. [PMID: 37381854 PMCID: PMC10291434 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The extent of inequality in material wealth across different types of societies is well established. Less clear, however, is how material wealth is associated with relational wealth, and the implications of such associations for material wealth inequality. Theory and evidence suggest that material wealth both guides, and is patterned by, relational wealth. While existing comparative studies typically assume complementarity between different types of wealth, such associations may differ for distinct kinds of relational wealth. Here, we first review the literature to identify how and why different forms of relational wealth may align. We then turn to an analysis of household-level social networks (food sharing, gender-specific friendship and gender-specific co-working networks) and material wealth data from a rural community in Pemba, Zanzibar. We find that (i) the materially wealthy have most relational ties, (ii) the associations between relational and material wealth-as well as relational wealth more generally-are patterned by gender differences, and (iii) different forms of relational wealth have similar structural properties and are closely aligned. More broadly, we show how examining the patterning of distinct types of relational wealth provides insights into how and why inequality in material wealth remains muted in a community undergoing rapid economic change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Redhead
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Jeffrey B. Andrews
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Hermann A, Gutiérrez P, Chauvel C, Maury R, Liorzou C, Willie E, Phillip I, Forkel R, Rzymski C, Bedford S. Artifact geochemistry demonstrates long-distance voyaging in the Polynesian Outliers. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadf4487. [PMID: 37083531 PMCID: PMC10121159 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Although the peopling of Remote Oceania is well-documented as a general process of eastward migrations from Island Southeast Asia and Near Oceania toward the archipelagos of Remote Oceania, the origin and the development of Polynesian societies in the Western Pacific (Polynesian Outliers), far away from the Polynesian triangle, remain unclear. Here, we present a large-scale geochemical sourcing study of stone artifacts excavated from archeological sites in central Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and the Caroline Islands and provide unambiguous evidence of multiple long-distance voyages, with exotic stone materials being transported up to 2500 kilometers from their source. Our results emphasize high mobility in the Western Pacific during the last millennium CE and offer insights on the scale and timing of contacts between the Polynesian Outliers, their neighbors in the Western Pacific, and societies of Western Polynesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aymeric Hermann
- UMR 8068 Temps, CNRS, F-92023 Nanterre, France
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, MPI-EVA, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Corresponding author.
| | - Pamela Gutiérrez
- Université Paris Cité, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Catherine Chauvel
- Université Paris Cité, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - René Maury
- Université de Brest, UMR6538 Géosciences Océan, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, CNRS, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Céline Liorzou
- Université de Brest, UMR6538 Géosciences Océan, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, CNRS, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Edson Willie
- Vanuatu National Museum, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, P.O. Box 184, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Iarawai Phillip
- Vanuatu National Museum, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, P.O. Box 184, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, MPI-EVA, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Rzymski
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, MPI-EVA, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stuart Bedford
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, MPI-EVA, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Vanuatu National Museum, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, P.O. Box 184, Port-Vila, Vanuatu
- Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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Stuhlträger J, Kullmer O, Wittig RM, Kupczik K, Schulz-Kornas E. Variability in molar crown morphology and cusp wear in two Western chimpanzee populations. Am J Biol Anthropol 2023; 181:29-44. [PMID: 36807569 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) possess a relatively generalized molar morphology allowing them to access a wide range of foods. Comparisons of crown and cusp morphology among the four subspecies have suggested relatively large intraspecific variability. Here, we compare molar crown traits and cusp wear of two geographically close populations of Western chimpanzees, P. t. verus, to provide further information on intraspecific dental variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS Micro-CT reconstructions of high-resolution replicas of first and second molars of two Western chimpanzee populations from Ivory Coast (Taï National Park) and Liberia, respectively were used for this study. First, we analyzed projected tooth and cusp 2D areas as well as the occurrence of cusp six (C6) on lower molars. Second, we quantified the molar cusp wear three-dimensionally to infer how the individual cusps alter with advancing wear. RESULTS Both populations are similar in their molar crown morphology, except for a higher appearance rate of a C6 in Taï chimpanzees. In Taï chimpanzees, lingual cusps of upper molars and buccal cusps of lower molars possess an advanced wear pattern compared to the remaining cusps, while in Liberian chimpanzees this wear gradient is less pronounced. DISCUSSION The similar crown morphology between both populations fits with previous descriptions for Western chimpanzees and provides additional data on dental variation within this subspecies. The wear pattern of the Taï chimpanzees are in concordance with their observed tool rather than tooth use to open nuts/seeds, while the Liberian chimpanzees may have consumed hard food items crushed between their molars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Stuhlträger
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Group Animal Husbandry and Ecology, Group Animal Breeding, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Division of Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences, CNRS UMR5229 University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron, France
| | - Kornelius Kupczik
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile
| | - Ellen Schulz-Kornas
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Cariology, Endodontics and Periodontology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Section Mammalogy and Palaeoanthropology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change and University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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6
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Starkweather KE, Reynolds AZ, Zohora F, Alam N. Shodagor women cooperate across domains of work and childcare to solve an adaptive problem. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210433. [PMID: 36440563 PMCID: PMC9703234 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Across human societies, women's economic production and their contributions to childcare are critical in supporting reproductive fitness for themselves, their spouses and children. Yet, the necessity of performing both work and childcare tasks presents women with an adaptive problem in which they must determine how best to allocate their time and energy between these tasks. Women often use cooperative relationships with alloparents to solve this problem, but whether or not women cooperate across different domains (e.g. work and childcare) to access alloparents remains relatively under-explored. Using social network data collected with Shodagor households in Bangladesh, we show that women who need childcare help in order to work draw on cooperative work partners as potential alloparents, and that all women rely heavily on kin, but not reciprocal cooperation for childcare help. These results indicate that Shodagor women strategize to create work and childcare relationships in ways that help solve the adaptive problem they face. We discuss the implications of our results and the example provided by Shodagor women for a broader understanding of women's cooperative relationships, including the importance of socio-ecological circumstances and gendered divisions of labour in shaping women's cooperative strategies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. E. Starkweather
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - A. Z. Reynolds
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 8731, USA
| | - F. Zohora
- Health Systems and Population Studies Division, ICDDR,B, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
| | - N. Alam
- Health Systems and Population Studies Division, ICDDR,B, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
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Pacheco MA, Ferreira FC, Logan CJ, McCune KB, MacPherson MP, Albino Miranda S, Santiago-Alarcon D, Escalante AA. Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) as a tolerant host of avian malaria parasites. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0268161. [PMID: 35998118 PMCID: PMC9397854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are a social, polygamous bird species whose populations have rapidly expanded their geographic range across North America over the past century. Before 1865, Great-tailed Grackles were only documented in Central America, Mexico, and southern Texas in the USA. Given the rapid northern expansion of this species, it is relevant to study its role in the dynamics of avian blood parasites. Here, 87 Great-tailed grackles in Arizona (a population in the new center of the range) were screened for haemosporidian parasites using microscopy and PCR targeting the parasite mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Individuals were caught in the wild from January 2018 until February 2020. Haemosporidian parasite prevalence was 62.1% (54/87). A high Plasmodium prevalence was found (60.9%, 53/87), and one grackle was infected with Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) sp. (lineage SIAMEX01). Twenty-one grackles were infected with P. cathemerium, sixteen with P. homopolare, four with P. relictum (strain GRW04), and eleven with three different genetic lineages of Plasmodium spp. that have not been characterized to species level (MOLATE01, PHPAT01, and ZEMAC01). Gametocytes were observed in birds infected with three different Plasmodium lineages, revealing that grackles are competent hosts for some parasite species. This study also suggests that grackles are highly susceptible and develop chronic infections consistent with parasite tolerance, making them competent to transmit some generalist haemosporidian lineages. It can be hypothesized that, as the Great-tailed Grackle expands its geographic range, it may affect local bird communities by increasing the transmission of local parasites but not introducing new species into the parasite species pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Andreína Pacheco
- Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM), Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CJL); (MAP); (AAE)
| | - Francisco C. Ferreira
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Center for Vector Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Corina J. Logan
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail: (CJL); (MAP); (AAE)
| | - Kelsey B. McCune
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Maggie P. MacPherson
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
- Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Sergio Albino Miranda
- Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Diego Santiago-Alarcon
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Ananias A. Escalante
- Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM), Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CJL); (MAP); (AAE)
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8
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Tran NH, Kucharský Š, Waring TM, Atmaca S, Beheim BA. Limited Scope for Group Coordination in Stylistic Variations of Kolam Art. Front Psychol 2021; 12:742577. [PMID: 34777133 PMCID: PMC8584996 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.742577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In large, complex societies, assorting with others with similar social norms or behaviors can facilitate successful coordination and cooperation. The ability to recognize others with shared norms or behaviors is thus assumed to be under selection. As a medium of communication, human art might reflect fitness-relevant information on shared norms and behaviors of other individuals thus facilitating successful coordination and cooperation. Distinctive styles or patterns of artistic design could signify migration history, different groups with a shared interaction history due to spatial proximity, as well as individual-level expertise and preferences. In addition, cultural boundaries may be even more pronounced in a highly diverse and socially stratified society. In the current study, we focus on a large corpus of an artistic tradition called kolam that is produced by women from Tamil Nadu in South India (N = 3, 139 kolam drawings from 192 women) to test whether stylistic variations in art can be mapped onto caste boundaries, migration and neighborhoods. Since the kolam art system with its sequential drawing decisions can be described by a Markov process, we characterize variation in styles of art due to different facets of an artist's identity and the group affiliations, via hierarchical Bayesian statistical models. Our results reveal that stylistic variations in kolam art only weakly map onto caste boundaries, neighborhoods, and regional origin. In fact, stylistic variations or patterns in art are dominated by artist-level variation and artist expertise. Our results illustrate that although art can be a medium of communication, it is not necessarily marked by group affiliation. Rather, artistic behavior in this context seems to be primarily a behavioral domain within which individuals carve out a unique niche for themselves to differentiate themselves from others. Our findings inform discussions on the evolutionary role of art for group coordination by encouraging researchers to use systematic methods to measure the mapping between specific objects or styles onto groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- N.-Han Tran
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Šimon Kucharský
- Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Timothy M. Waring
- Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, School of Economics, University of Maine, Orono, ME, United States
| | - Silke Atmaca
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Bret A. Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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9
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Verspeek J, Behringer V, Laméris DW, Murtagh R, Salas M, Staes N, Deschner T, Stevens JMG. Time-lag of urinary and salivary cortisol response after a psychological stressor in bonobos (Pan paniscus). Sci Rep 2021; 11:7905. [PMID: 33846457 PMCID: PMC8041877 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87163-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortisol is often measured as a marker for stress. Therefore, a profound validation of the time-lag between the stressor and the increase and peak in cortisol levels is needed. No study measured both the urinary and salivary cortisol time-lag after a psychological stressor. In this study, we used a frequent sampling study design to (1) describe the urinary and salivary cortisol pattern during a control day; and (2) characterize the induced excretion pattern of urinary and salivary cortisol after a psychological stressor in six zoo-housed bonobos. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze 71 urine and 162 saliva samples collected on a control and a test day. We found that the time-lag between the stressor and the maximal cortisol concentration was similar in urine and saliva (160 min after the stressor). However, salivary cortisol after the stressor did show a faster and steeper increase than urinary cortisol. We also show inter-individual variation in the baseline and stress levels of cortisol, which should be considered in future cortisol studies. Our research highlights the importance of validation studies to confirm relevant sampling windows for cortisol sampling in order to obtain biologically meaningful results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Verspeek
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Antwerp ZOO Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Verena Behringer
- Interim Group Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daan W Laméris
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp ZOO Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Róisín Murtagh
- Interim Group Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marina Salas
- Antwerp ZOO Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nicky Staes
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp ZOO Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Interim Group Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jeroen M G Stevens
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- SALTO, Agro- and Biotechnology, Odisee University College, Brussels, Belgium
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10
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McPherron SP, Abdolahzadeh A, Archer W, Chan A, Djakovic I, Dogandžić T, Leader GM, Li L, Lin S, Magnani M, Reeves J, Rezek Z, Weiss M. Introducing platform surface interior angle (PSIA) and its role in flake formation, size and shape. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241714. [PMID: 33206671 PMCID: PMC7673556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Four ways archaeologists have tried to gain insights into how flintknapping creates lithic variability are fracture mechanics, controlled experimentation, replication and attribute studies of lithic assemblages. Fracture mechanics has the advantage of drawing more directly on first principles derived from physics and material sciences, but its relevance to controlled experimentation, replication and lithic studies more generally has been limited. Controlled experiments have the advantage of being able to isolate and quantify the contribution of individual variables to knapping outcomes, and the results of these experiments have provided models of flake formation that when applied to the archaeological record of flintknapping have provided insights into past behavior. Here we develop a linkage between fracture mechanics and the results of previous controlled experiments to increase their combined explanatory and predictive power. We do this by documenting the influence of Herztian cone formation, a constant in fracture mechanics, on flake platforms. We find that the platform width is a function of the Hertzian cone constant angle and the geometry of the platform edge. This finding strengthens the foundation of one of the more influential models emerging from the controlled experiments. With additional work, this should make it possible to merge more of the experimental results into a more comprehensive model of flake formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon P. McPherron
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aylar Abdolahzadeh
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Will Archer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Annie Chan
- Department of Asian Studies, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations de l’Asie Orientale, Paris, France
| | - Igor Djakovic
- Department of Archaeology, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tamara Dogandžić
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - George M. Leader
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Li Li
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sam Lin
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Matthew Magnani
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Reeves
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Zeljko Rezek
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Broesch T, Crittenden AN, Beheim BA, Blackwell AD, Bunce JA, Colleran H, Hagel K, Kline M, McElreath R, Nelson RG, Pisor AC, Prall S, Pretelli I, Purzycki B, Quinn EA, Ross C, Scelza B, Starkweather K, Stieglitz J, Mulder MB. Navigating cross-cultural research: methodological and ethical considerations. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201245. [PMID: 32962541 PMCID: PMC7542829 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The intensifying pace of research based on cross-cultural studies in the social sciences necessitates a discussion of the unique challenges of multi-sited research. Given an increasing demand for social scientists to expand their data collection beyond WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) populations, there is an urgent need for transdisciplinary conversations on the logistical, scientific and ethical considerations inherent to this type of scholarship. As a group of social scientists engaged in cross-cultural research in psychology and anthropology, we hope to guide prospective cross-cultural researchers through some of the complex scientific and ethical challenges involved in such work: (a) study site selection, (b) community involvement and (c) culturally appropriate research methods. We aim to shed light on some of the difficult ethical quandaries of this type of research. Our recommendation emphasizes a community-centred approach, in which the desires of the community regarding research approach and methodology, community involvement, results communication and distribution, and data sharing are held in the highest regard by the researchers. We argue that such considerations are central to scientific rigour and the foundation of the study of human behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya Broesch
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada
| | | | - Bret A. Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Aaron D. Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - John A. Bunce
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Heidi Colleran
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- BirthRites Independent Max Planck Research Group, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kristin Hagel
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michelle Kline
- Centre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University, London, UK
| | - Richard McElreath
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Anne C. Pisor
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Sean Prall
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, MO, USA
| | - Ilaria Pretelli
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Benjamin Purzycki
- Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Cody Ross
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Brooke Scelza
- Department of Anthropology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kathrine Starkweather
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
| | | | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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12
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Pisor AC, Gervais MM, Purzycki BG, Ross CT. Preferences and constraints: the value of economic games for studying human behaviour. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:192090. [PMID: 32742683 PMCID: PMC7353969 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.192090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
As economic games have spread from experimental economics to other social sciences, so too have critiques of their usefulness for drawing inferences about the 'real world'. What these criticisms often miss is that games can be used to reveal individuals' private preferences in ways that observational and interview data cannot; furthermore, economic games can be designed such that they do provide insights into real-world behaviour. Here, we draw on our collective experience using economic games in field contexts to illustrate how researchers can strategically alter the framing or design of economic games to draw inferences about private-world or real-world preferences. A detailed case study from coastal Colombia provides an example of the subtleties of game design and how games can be combined fruitfully with self-report data. We close with a list of concrete recommendations for how to modify economic games to better match particular research questions and research contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C. Pisor
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4910, USA
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 LeipzigGermany
| | | | - Benjamin G. Purzycki
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 LeipzigGermany
- Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cody T. Ross
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 LeipzigGermany
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13
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Janmaat KRL. What animals do not do or fail to find: A novel observational approach for studying cognition in the wild. Evol Anthropol 2019; 28:303-320. [PMID: 31418959 PMCID: PMC6916178 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
To understand how our brain evolved and what it is for, we are in urgent need of knowledge about the cognitive skills of a large variety of animal species and individuals, and their relationships to rapidly disappearing social and ecological conditions. But how do we obtain this knowledge? Studying cognition in the wild is a challenge. Field researchers (and their study subjects) face many factors that can easily interfere with their variables of interest. Although field studies of cognition present unique challenges, they are still invaluable for understanding the evolutionary drivers of cognition. In this review, I discuss the advantages and urgency of field-based studies on animal cognition and introduce a novel observational approach for field research that is guided by three questions: (a) what do animals fail to find?, (b) what do they not do?, and (c) what do they only do when certain conditions are met? My goal is to provide guidance to future field researchers examining primate cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karline R. L. Janmaat
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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14
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Schuh A, Kupczik K, Gunz P, Hublin J, Freidline SE. Ontogeny of the human maxilla: a study of intra-population variability combining surface bone histology and geometric morphometrics. J Anat 2019; 235:233-245. [PMID: 31070788 PMCID: PMC6637443 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Bone modeling is the process by which bone grows in size and models its shape via the cellular activities of the osteoblasts and osteoclasts that respectively form and remove bone. The patterns of expression of these two activities, visible on bone surfaces, are poorly understood during facial ontogeny in Homo sapiens; this is due mainly to small sample sizes and a lack of quantitative data. Furthermore, how microscopic activities are related to the development of morphological features, like the uniquely human-canine fossa, has been rarely explored. We developed novel techniques for quantifying and visualizing variability in bone modeling patterns and applied these methods to the human maxilla to better understand its development at the micro- and macroscopic levels. We used a cross-sectional ontogenetic series of 47 skulls of known calendar age, ranging from birth to 12 years, from a population of European ancestry. Surface histology was employed to record and quantify formation and resorption on the maxilla, and digital maps representing each individual's bone modeling patterns were created. Semilandmark geometric morphometric (GM) methods and multivariate statistics were used to analyze facial growth. Our results demonstrate that surface histology and GM methods give complementary results, and can be used as an integrative approach in ontogenetic studies. The bone modeling patterns specific to our sample are expressed early in ontogeny, and fairly constant through time. Bone resorption varies in the size of its fields, but not in location. Consequently, absence of bone resorption in extinct species with small sample sizes should be interpreted with caution. At the macroscopic level, maxillary growth is predominant in the top half of the bone where bone formation is mostly present. Our results suggest that maxillary growth in humans is highly constrained from early stages in ontogeny, and morphological changes are likely driven by changes in osteoblastic and osteoclastic rates of expression rather than differences in the bone modeling patterns (i.e. changes in location of formation and resorption). Finally, the results of the micro- and macroscopic analyses suggest that the development of the canine fossa results from a combination of bone resorption and bone growth in the surrounding region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Schuh
- Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Kornelius Kupczik
- Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and AnthropologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Jean‐Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Sarah E. Freidline
- Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
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15
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Jang H, Boesch C, Mundry R, Kandza V, Janmaat KRL. Sun, age and test location affect spatial orientation in human foragers in rainforests. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190934. [PMID: 31337316 PMCID: PMC6661361 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to know the direction of food sources is important for the foraging success of hunter-gatherers, especially in rainforests where dense vegetation limits visual detection distances. Besides sex and age, prior experience with the environment and the use of environmental cues are known to influence orientation abilities of humans. Among environmental cues, the position of the sun in the sky is important for orientation of diurnal animal species. However, whether or to what extent humans use the sun is largely unknown. Here, we investigated orientation abilities of the Mbendjele BaYaka people in the Republic of Congo, by conducting pointing tests (Nparticipants = 54, age: 6-76 years) in different locations in the rainforest. The Mbendjele were overall highly accurate at pointing to out-of-sight targets (median error: 6°). Pointing accuracy increased with age, but sex did not affect accuracy. Crucially, sun visibility increased pointing accuracy in young participants, especially when they were far from the camp. However, this effect became less apparent in older participants who exhibited high pointing accuracy, also when the sun was not visible. This study extends our understandings of orientation abilities of human foragers and provides the first behavioural evidence for sun compass use in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haneul Jang
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roger Mundry
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vidrich Kandza
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo
| | - Karline R. L. Janmaat
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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Welker F. Elucidation of cross-species proteomic effects in human and hominin bone proteome identification through a bioinformatics experiment. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:23. [PMID: 29463217 PMCID: PMC5819086 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1141-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The study of ancient protein sequences is increasingly focused on the analysis of older samples, including those of ancient hominins. The analysis of such ancient proteomes thereby potentially suffers from "cross-species proteomic effects": the loss of peptide and protein identifications at increased evolutionary distances due to a larger number of protein sequence differences between the database sequence and the analyzed organism. Error-tolerant proteomic search algorithms should theoretically overcome this problem at both the peptide and protein level; however, this has not been demonstrated. If error-tolerant searches do not overcome the cross-species proteomic issue then there might be inherent biases in the identified proteomes. Here, a bioinformatics experiment is performed to test this using a set of modern human bone proteomes and three independent searches against sequence databases at increasing evolutionary distances: the human (0 Ma), chimpanzee (6-8 Ma) and orangutan (16-17 Ma) reference proteomes, respectively. RESULTS Incorrectly suggested amino acid substitutions are absent when employing adequate filtering criteria for mutable Peptide Spectrum Matches (PSMs), but roughly half of the mutable PSMs were not recovered. As a result, peptide and protein identification rates are higher in error-tolerant mode compared to non-error-tolerant searches but did not recover protein identifications completely. Data indicates that peptide length and the number of mutations between the target and database sequences are the main factors influencing mutable PSM identification. CONCLUSIONS The error-tolerant results suggest that the cross-species proteomics problem is not overcome at increasing evolutionary distances, even at the protein level. Peptide and protein loss has the potential to significantly impact divergence dating and proteome comparisons when using ancient samples as there is a bias towards the identification of conserved sequences and proteins. Effects are minimized between moderately divergent proteomes, as indicated by almost complete recovery of informative positions in the search against the chimpanzee proteome (≈90%, 6-8 Ma). This provides a bioinformatic background to future phylogenetic and proteomic analysis of ancient hominin proteomes, including the future description of novel hominin amino acid sequences, but also has negative implications for the study of fast-evolving proteins in hominins, non-hominin animals, and ancient bacterial proteins in evolutionary contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Welker
- Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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17
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Sirianni G, Wittig RM, Gratton P, Mundry R, Schüler A, Boesch C. Do chimpanzees anticipate an object's weight? A field experiment on the kinematics of hammer-lifting movements in the nut-cracking Taï chimpanzees. Anim Cogn 2017; 21:109-118. [PMID: 29196908 PMCID: PMC5756265 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1144-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Revised: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
When humans are about to manipulate an object, our brains use visual cues to recall an internal representation to predict its weight and scale the lifting force accordingly. Such a long-term force profile, formed through repeated experiences with similar objects, has been proposed to improve manipulative performance. Skillful object manipulation is crucial for many animals, particularly those that rely on tools for foraging. However, despite enduring interest in tool use in non-human animals, there has been very little investigation of their ability to form an expectation about an object's weight. In this study, we tested whether wild chimpanzees use long-term force profiles to anticipate the weight of a nut-cracking hammer from its size. To this end, we conducted a field experiment presenting chimpanzees with natural wooden hammers and artificially hollowed, lighter hammers of the same size and external appearance. We used calibrated videos from camera traps to extract kinematic parameters of lifting movements. We found that, when lacking previous experience, chimpanzees lifted hollowed hammers with a higher acceleration than natural hammers (overshoot effect). After using a hammer to crack open one nut, chimpanzees tuned down the lifting acceleration for the hollowed hammers, but continued lifting natural hammers with the same acceleration. Our results show that chimpanzees anticipate the weight of an object using long-term force profiles and suggest that, similarly to humans, they use internal representations of weight to plan their lifting movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Sirianni
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, BP 1303, Abidjan, 01, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Paolo Gratton
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roger Mundry
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Axel Schüler
- Institut für Angewandte Trainingswissenschaft, Marschnerstraße 29, 04109, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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