Chimpanzees are the only animals, other than humans, that learn certain cultural behaviors - such as grooming, hunting or how to crack open nuts -- from those around them, according to a study.
Culture is defined by scientists as a set of socially-learned behaviors that differ between populations. Because the behavior is learned from a local group, individual populations may carry out the same task differently.
"Culture has long been considered to be not only unique to humans, but also responsible for making us different from all other forms of life," wrote researchers, led by Stephen Lycett of the University of Liverpool. "In recent years, however, researchers studying chimpanzees have challenged this idea. Natural populations of chimpanzees have been found to vary greatly in their behavior."
PHOTO: AFP
Many animals learn skills from their parents or peers but none of it is considered a cultural ability because it is usually limited to one activity. Chimpanzees, however, have demonstrated almost 40 different activities that seem to be learned and which differ between populations.
Studies of chimpanzees in eastern and western Africa show that some use only stone tools to crack nuts open while others use both wooden and stone tools.
Dr. Lycett and his team made a genetic family tree of the different groups of chimpanzees from eastern and western Africa and correlated it with the animals' behavior. The team found that the small differences in genes between groups could not account for behavioral differences.
"Our results support the suggestion that the behavioral patterns are the product of social learning and, therefore, can be considered cultural," wrote Dr. Lycett. (The Guardian)
一項研究結果顯示，黑星興是除了人類之外，唯一具有學習特定文化行為的動物。他們從周遭環境學習行為模式，例如：打扮、狩獵或是如何敲開堅果殼等。
科學家對「文化」的定義為，不同族群監社會成員透過學習後，表現出來的行為模式。由於這些行為模式是透過當地族群學習而來的，不同地區的居民會發展出不同的解決問題的方法。
「長久以來，我們一直認為文化不僅是存於人類社會，也是我們有別於其他動物的原因。」由史蒂芬•里賽特頓領軍的利物浦研究團隊寫到：「然而，近年來研究黑猩猩的學者們卻挑戰了這個概念。他們發現自然界的黑猩猩擁有一套相當完整的行為模式。」
許多動物都從他們的父母或同儕身上學習生活技能，但是這些都不算文化行為，因為這些行為大多僅止於單一活動。
但是黑猩猩卻展現了多達四十種透過學習而具備的行為模式，而且這些行為模式也因地區的不同而有所差異。
研究顯示，非洲東部和西部的黑猩猩同樣要敲開堅果殼，有些僅使用時頭當作工具，有些卻同時使用模頭和石頭。
里賽博士和他的研究團隊替非洲東部和西部的黑猩猩製作了一個基因族譜，並將應用在他們的動物行為研究上。研究團隊
發現，兩組黑猩猩基因中的微小差別不足以解釋牠們個別的行為差異。
「我們的研究結果告進一步地證實行為模式是社會學習後的產物這個推論。因此，這些行為模式可以是稱為文化行為。」
(法新社/翻譯：袁星塵)
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Emma had reviewed 41 resumes that morning. While the ATS screened out 288 unqualified, she screened for AI slop. She could spot it a mile away. She muttered AI buzzwords like curses under her breath. “Team player.” “Results-driven.” “Stakeholder alignment.” “Leveraging core competencies.” Each resume reeked of AI modeling: a cemetery of cliches, tombstones of personality. AI wasn’t just changing hiring. It was draining the humanity from it. Then she found it: a plain PDF cover letter. No template. No design flourishes. The first line read: “I once tried to automate my
Every May 1, Hawaii comes alive with Lei Day, a festival celebrating the rich culture and spirit of the islands. Initiated in 1927 by the poet Don Blanding, Lei Day began as a tribute to the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing leis. The idea was quickly adopted and officially recognized as a holiday in 1929, and leis have since become a symbol of local pride and cultural preservation. In Hawaiian culture, leis are more than decorative garlands made from flowers, shells or feathers. For Hawaiians, giving a lei is as natural as saying “aloha.” It shows love and
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses and pop diva Lady Gaga are finally touring Asia again. B: Are they also coming to Taiwan? A: The band will stage a show at the Taoyuan Sunlight Arena on Saturday. B: Wow, so this will be the band’s third visit. I really love its 1992 power ballad “November Rain.” The nine-minute hit was the Billboard chart’s longest song at one point. A: Let’s go celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰、女神卡卡終於再度展開亞洲巡演了。 B: 他們也會來台巡演嗎？ A: 槍與玫瑰本週六即將在桃園陽光劇場開唱唷。 B: 哇這將是該團第三次來台演出，我超愛他們1992年強力情歌《November Rain》，全長近9分鐘還曾是告示牌排行榜最長神曲。 A: 那我們一起去慶祝該團出道40週年吧！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses is touring Taiwan tomorrow. What about pop diva Lady Gaga? B: Unfortunately, Singapore has once again exclusively secured Gaga’s concerts in Asia, just like Taylor Swift’s exclusive Asian shows last year. A: The Singaporean government reportedly paid up to US$2.2 million to secure Swift’s shows. B: And the shows did boost its economy and tourism. A: But I’m angry about this approach, so I’m not going to Gaga’s shows this time. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰明天即將來台，流行天后女神卡卡呢？ B: 真可惜，新加坡再度取得卡卡亞洲巡演的獨家主辦權，就像去年泰勒絲的亞洲獨家演出一樣。 A: 據報導新加坡政府付出高達220萬美元，取得泰勒絲的亞洲獨家主辦權。 B: 而她的秀也的確提振了該國的經濟和旅遊業。 A: 但我對此還是很不爽，所以不去新加坡看卡卡了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
RSS