Primatology.net

Grass in the Ear, Grass in the Rectum: What Chimpanzee Fads Reveal About the Origins of Culture

A sanctuary in Zambia accidentally documented something strange about why animals — and maybe humans — copy each other.

Mar 6

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21:26

What Chimpanzees Do With Crystals Tells Us Something Strange About Ourselves

A new study tested whether our closest relatives share our ancient attraction to quartz and calcite — and the results are hard to explain away.

Mar 5

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18:17

The Tolerant Brain: What Macaque Amygdalae Tell Us About the Evolution of Social Life

A new study scanned the brains of 12 macaque species and found that tolerance, not aggression, predicts amygdala size — and the developmental story is…

Mar 3

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20:57

February 2026

Wild Chimpanzees Are Regularly Consuming Alcohol, and Their Urine Proves It

New fieldwork from Uganda's Kibale National Park delivers the clearest physiological evidence yet for the "drunken monkey hypothesis" — and what it…

Feb 25

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18:27

What Bonobo Sex Tells Us About the Origins of Rhythm and Communication

A new study on facial mimicry and movement tempo in bonobos opens a window into the deep evolutionary roots of human social behavior.

Feb 17

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16:39

When Macaques Started Washing Sweet Potatoes, We Weren't Ready to Call It Culture

How a 70-year delay in translation reveals our blindness to what we think makes us human

Feb 13

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18:13

A Bonobo Tracks Imaginary Juice

What Kanzi's pretend play reveals about the deep evolutionary roots of the human mind

Feb 11

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15:16

Toothpick Grooves That Were Never Toothpicks

A survey of 500 primate teeth shows that marks once linked to ancient human hygiene can form naturally, while a common modern dental problem appears…

Feb 4

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12:52

January 2026

When Sharing Becomes Survival: How Chimpanzee Groups Solve Resource Dilemmas

New experiments reveal that larger, more tolerant chimpanzee groups manage shared resources more sustainably, offering fresh insight into the…

Jan 26

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16:41

The Forest as a Rumor Mill: How Spider Monkeys Trade Information to Outsmart Scarce Fruit

A seven-year study in Mexico shows that spider monkeys do not just search for food. They circulate knowledge about it, using fluid social ties to build…

Jan 26

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15:47

When Baby Chimps Leap First

What risky chimpanzee play reveals about the deep roots of human care

Jan 10

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13:52

November 2025

The Apprenticeship of the Forest

New research shows that young orangutans inherit a cultural archive of edible plants and animals far too extensive for any individual to discover alone.

Nov 25, 2025

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