Shared Trait Between Humans and Chimpanzees

Shared Trait between Humans and Chimpanzees
Anthropology 101
Section
Fall 2010
Professor Diane Sank

For many years, numerous individuals including anthropologists have attempted to explain how a single species evolved into another. From the time of Charles Darwin to Creationism, anthropologists have established that chimpanzees are human’s closet relative. Furthermore, with the extensive voluminous amount of information, not only are chimpanzees genetically and evolutionary similar to human but share analogous traits. For instance, chimpanzees like human make and utilized tools in various techniques. Another trait shared is eutheria, where offspring depend on the placenta and grown internally of their paternities. In addition to the highly mobile digits that assist chimpanzees in grasping and climbing. These illustrations are just a few. This paper is twofold; to highlight humans and chimpanzees shared traits that can aid in recreating the past of humans, secondly to heighten my knowledge of the evolution of humankind and chimpanzees.
Human are classified in the primate order. The primate order contains countless species of prosimians, monkeys, apes, and us. Moreover even though humans are classified along with other primates the nearest relative is chimpanzees. Similarly, humans and chimpanzees share, “anatomy, and genetic material” that has been noted for several years now. By sharing similar traits it is noted as a vital part of human evolution. Human evolution is the development of humans also known as Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens are categorized in the Hominidae family, a family that has shown to ensure increased brain size with complexity and bipedalism. Chimpanzees have undergone many different changes during that resulted in binocular vision, mobile digits without claws but nails, decreasing in sense of smell due to a reduced snout, large and complex brains. Specific traits are illustrated distinctively within humans (Kottak, 2009).
The first trait chimpanzees share with humans is grooming. Grooming is the action of cleaning oneself or another. The purpose of grooming among primates has many functions. The first is to clean another while the other is is sharing a bonding experience with a partner or friend. Both primates experience, “friendless, submission, appeasement or closeness… embracing, touching, and jumping up and down.” These behaviors assist in shaping closeness between the two chimpanzees taking part in grooming (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & McBride, 2005). Two chimpanzees sit face to face with each other and perform these procedures. Chimpanzees use their digits to “remove parasites or detritus from another’s hairy body surface,” resulting in the consumption of parasites There are different grooming habits among chimpanzees. For instance, some chimpanzees groom each other face to face while other chimpanzee let the one being groomed to move about as they feel. Some chimpanzees use sticks, or leaves as tools for grooming. In humans grooming is also used as a bonding experience for example between mother and child (McGrew, 1998).
The second trait is the increase in the size of the brain and complexity. Primates have the highest intelligences. The size and complexity of brain enables primates to retain additional information to utilize in tool making or climbing. The advantages of a large brain with complexity assist in “navigat[ing]…find[ing] food in a highly complex environment.” The brain size of chimpanzees is larger than most other mammals (Kottak 2006; Stanford, Allen, Anton, 2006).
The third trait is highly mobile digits. In humans mobile digits are hands. Chimpanzee’s highly mobile digit allows them to grasp items and climb trees more efficiently. Chimpanzees like human have five fingers on both digits (hands and toes). Primates also have opposable thumbs and tactile pads. Tactile pads empower chimps to have great sensitivity to what they come into contact with. The tactile pads are located at the end of chimp’s digits. Chimps do not have claws but nails (Kottak, 2009). The fourth trait chimps share with humans is tool making. Chimps are every diversified in utilizing and make tools. Chimpanzees construct their tools from surrounding material within the forest such as twigs, bark, and leaves. Tool constructed have multiple functions. For example leaves can be rolled to create a cup for drink water. Another example is utilized leaves for fishing and grooming varies parts of another chimpanzee. Finally leaves can be used in pre –mating procedure and to make medication. Chimpanzees also utilized tools to gather food such as sticking sticks into the ground to gather ants and termites for food. Chimpanzees are able to use their surrounds to help create everyday task to be performed with ease (McGrew, 1998). The fifth trait chimpanzees share with humans is being eutheria. Eutheria are mammals who reproduce internally via placenta. Similar to human chimpanzees do not have a breeding season. This allows chimpanzees to mate at any time of the year. Since mating seasons do not exist in chimpanzee culture, the majority of female chimpanzees throughout their life becomes pregnant or nurse constantly. Once offspring are born they are:
“Dependent for 4 or 5 years…chimpanzee infant cannot survive if its mother dies before it reaches the age of 4 at the very least… During the juvenile period, young primates are still dependent upon the largest social group rather than on their mother alone, using this period for learning and refining a variety of behaviors. If the juvenile primate’s mother dies, he or she will be “adopted” by an older male or female member of the social group.”
Not only does the infant depend on their mother for a period in time, the community takes care of them as they reach a certain age (Stanford, Allen, Anton, 2006). The sixth trait chimpanzee share is bipedalism. Bipedalism is the art of walking on two legs. This trait is a major trait that has evolved. Chimpanzees usually walk on all fours. However at times chimpanzees walk bipedally when they have to hold something in their hand. Furthermore Chimpanzees “cannot sustain bipedalism locomotion for more than 50 to 100 yards [before retracting to] knuckle-walking” (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & McBride, 2005). Human infants like chimpanzees walk on all fours, at times walking bipeadlly shortly until they retract to walking on all fours.
The seventh trait is the act of playing. The process of playing among chimpanzees is learning skills that can be used later in life as adults. The act of playing is shown not only in infants but juveniles as well. Infants and juveniles play to “learn about their environment…social skills… [and] testing a variety of behaviors.” The act of playing is a tool for learning how certain things work and what is and not accepted in their community (McGrew 1998; Stanford, Allen, Anton, 2006).
The eighth trait chimpanzee share with humans is the art of learning. Since the brain of a chimpanzees has increased in size and complexity this trait has assisted in advantages. Younger chimpanzees stay close to their mothers in order to learn how to perform certain task. For example, chimpanzees in West Africa use stones to crack open nuts. At first the offspring fail to perform the task until a great deal of practice is achieved. This process is call aping, the act of observing then imitating the adult they learned from (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & McBride, 2005).
The ninth trait is sexual behavior among chimpanzees. Chimpanzees and humans alike are promiscuous. The reason being primates do not have a set partner, another primate to mate with and stay with as a neutral family. Within chimpanzees communities both male and female engage in finding partners to mate with. There is no standard for the men to only look, but women take part in finding a mate rather than waiting for one. Female chimpanzees similar to humans go through several periods in time when they are vulnerable to impregnation. This period in time is known as estrus, not only where the female is vulnerable to impregnation but skin surrounding the genitals swell. In a recent study “twelve to fourteen males have been observed to have as many as fifty copulations in one day with a single female in estrus”(Stanford, Allen, Anton, 2006). Sexual promiscuity is a norm in chimpanzee’s community as well as humans. In our culture sexual promiscuity is portrayed in the form of pornography. Even though it is frowned upon individuals still take part in it.
The tenth trait similar to humans is communication. Chimpanzees have diverse calls that can be visualized with face and body expressions. There are various calls such as, “warning calls, threat calls, defense calls, and gather calls… [that accompany] gestures and postures…. [that is at] the level of a 2 to 3 –year-old human child” (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & McBride, 2005). Chimpanzee unlike humans cannot speak but they do display language skills incorporating by call and gestures.
I have learned that chimpanzees are extremely intelligent and should be studied more often. In my opinion chimpanzees are becoming more and more intelligent than the average American. For example some American can barely read and write let alone communicate their wants and needs. While chimpanzees communicate their wants and needs by using gestures and postures. It is extremely heartbroken more and more primates are slowly being extinct or becoming research models not to benefit the understanding of their ways but for biomedical research. It truly was remarkable learning about chimpanzees an there shared trait humans’ utilize as of today. I am grateful and wish someday I too like Jane Goodall can do research on primates to learn their ways. We as humans should learn more and take care of our closest relative then would we truly understand their ways and ourselves.
Chimpanzees, Pan Troglodytes, have acquired traits that are established already in humans. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent primates who display eutheria, the process of growing their offspring internally. Chimpanzees are extremely social creatures that take part in grooming as a process of bonding with another primate. While infants and juvenile learn through play which creates a learning environment for the children to learn what they will be required to know when they are adults. The increase in brain size and complexity has assisted chimpanzees to make and utilize tools, walk bipedally, and able them to climb and grasp with their high mobile digits. It begs the question: what will the future hold for the evolution of humans as chimpanzees become more and more rick in knowledge?

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References
1. Haviland, W, Prins, H, Walrath, D, & McBride, B. (2005). Living primates. In N. Root (Ed.), Anthropology: the Human Challenge (pp. 62-87). Canada: Wadsworth. 2. Stanford, C, Allen, J, & Anton, S. (2006). Biological anthropology. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 3. Kottak, C. (2009). Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity. New York: The McGraw Hill Companies. 4. Culture in nonhuman primates. (1998). Annuals Review of Anthropology, 27, 301-328.

References: 1. Haviland, W, Prins, H, Walrath, D, & McBride, B. (2005). Living primates. In N. Root (Ed.), Anthropology: the Human Challenge (pp. 62-87). Canada: Wadsworth. 2. Stanford, C, Allen, J, & Anton, S. (2006). Biological anthropology. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 3. Kottak, C. (2009). Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity. New York: The McGraw Hill Companies. 4. Culture in nonhuman primates. (1998). Annuals Review of Anthropology, 27, 301-328.