We are interested in the evolutionary origins of great ape behaviour, including our own.
We are especially curious about the evolutionary drivers that led to the emergence of complex tool use and culture in the human lineage.
We study chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and humans. Our research investigates the effects of both the social and ecological environment on the development of tool use skills in youngsters.
Tool use & culture
We study how, and why, apes and humans develop their cultural tool use skills. We investigate the evolutionary drivers of technology, as well as the developmental process of acquiring tool use skills.
Behaviour & ecology
We study the behaviour and ecology of wild apes. Research topics include sociality, foraging and communication. We investigate the evolutionary origins and ecological drivers of their behaviour.
Research & conservation
We investigate how wild chimpanzees utilize their environment. We employ genetic censusing, habit suitability modeling, and camera trapping. Our research helps to inform conservation strategies.
Creativity is central to our species’ extraordinarily rich behavioural variation, and to our ability to adapt, innovate, and thrive in a rapidly changing world. In many ways, humans are the ‘Creative Ape’. While clearly exceptional–whether human creativity uniquely defines us remains unknown. The Creative Ape Project investigates the evolution of creativity by examining its expression in our closest living relatives: chimpanzees and bonobos. By quantifying, for the first time, the creative capacities of wild non-human apes, we will establish whether and how humans are uniquely creative, along with the underlying drivers that shape creative expression across species. The project explores four interconnected topics: i) Making mavericks, ii) Funny guys and arty-types, iii) Lone ape geniuses, and iv) Creative ape economies. We employ a comprehensive approach that leverages long-term datasets, new field data, detailed manual video-coding, bespoke automated deep-learning models, and advanced modelling, to extract rich information on the ways in which apes solve problems in their daily lives. With a collective 200+ years of observations across sites and individuals, our project uses video and observational data across communities of wild chimpanzees and bonobos who live in the rainforests, mountains, and savannas of Africa.
Creative Ape Team
The Creative Ape Project is co-led by (creative apes) Prof. Kathelijne Koops here at the University of Zurich and Prof. Cat Hobaiter at the University of St Andrews.
Follow us on bluesky (@kathelijnekoops.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social)
Complex technology is a defining feature of modern humans. Our technological innovations have reshaped our planet and changed the impact of evolutionary forces upon our lives. Despite the enormous significance of human technology, the evolutionary origin of this complex use of tools is not well understood.
The goal of the CHAT project is to shed light on what made humans the uniquely technological ape. To do this, we use a comparative developmental approach. Specifically, we investigate the role of ecological and social drivers of tool use development across species. The CHAT project compares chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and humans. Such comparative research in a natural setting is crucial to determining the evolutionary forces which prompted differences in tool use skills to emerge and diverge among humans and other species.
What drives chimpanzee tool use & culture?
Chimpanzees use tools in a variety of context - just like we do! Nut cracking, termite fishing and ant dipping are examples of cultural tool use variants. Yet, not all chimpanzee communities use the same types of tools. We examined the influence of environmental factors on tool use among the chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea. Our findings showed that the opportunities to encounter resources requiring tools was key. This highlights the importance of considering environmental conditions in explaining tool use by wild chimpanzees and emphasize the interplay between environment and culture.
Chimpanzees and bonobos: What explains the difference in tool use?
Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest living relatives. Whereas chimpanzees are renowned for their tool use, bonobos use few tools in the wild. We investigated whether extrinsic (ecological and social opportunities) or intrinsic (predispositions) differences explain this tool use contrast. We found that extrinsic opportunities did not explain the tool use difference, whereas intrinsic predispositions did. Young chimpanzees manipulated and played more with objects than young bonobos. Our findings suggest that selection for object interest likely also played an important role in the evolution of hominin tool use.
The impact of our research is far-reaching both within the academic community and to broader public audiences because it touches upon the crucial question of human uniqueness.
We use our research findings to inform the development of applied conservation strategies to protect the apes and their habitat. We take a holistic approach to conservation based on scientific research, capacity building, and community engagement. Our initiatives include local researcher training, educational events, conservation outreach and sustainable development projects.
