Researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland report that chimpanzees can acquire tool-using skills and pass this knowledge on to their kin. Their findings appeared in the science journal Science. The work challenges older assumptions that such behaviors are purely instinctual, showing instead that these primates can learn, teach, and potentially accumulate cultural practices across generations. By combining field observations with modern genetic analysis, the researchers painted a picture of tool use as a social and heritable trait that travels through family lines and networks of neighboring groups.
The team traced ancient chimpanzee migrations across Africa through genetic data and linked these movements to 15 distinct foraging patterns observed in dozens of contemporary chimpanzee communities, documenting three levels of behavior. They categorized behaviors into tool-free foraging, simple tool-use actions, and multi-step tool use requiring a coordinated set of implements. Across the landscape, patterns emerged showing that certain techniques spread where populations mixed, while others remained localized, suggesting a rich tapestry of cultural exchange shaped by contact and opportunity.
An example of the second level comes from Congo chimpanzee groups. There, foraging teams dig termite nests with a thick stick and then use a chewed plant stem as a brush to sweep insects out of the tunnel they have excavated. This sequence demonstrates planning, deliberate tool selection, and the use of multiple steps to access food that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. The observation supports the idea that tool-assisted problem solving is not confined to a single region but appears in varied ecological settings, indicating a shared capacity for technological reasoning among these primates.
The study shows that the prevalence of modern tool use correlates with historical gene exchange between populations over roughly five thousand to fifteen thousand years. In plain terms, lineages that intermingled and shared resources across vast areas were more likely to adopt and pass on making and using tools. That connection implies that cultural knowledge can travel through social ties as much as through genetic exchange, reinforcing the view that culture and biology interact in shaping behavior. According to Science, these results point to diffusion driven by intergroup contact rather than isolated, solitary innovation alone.
In regions where all three subtypes overlap, the most sophisticated tool use is observed, underscoring how intergroup ties amplify learning opportunities and spread knowledge. When groups interact, new techniques can be demonstrated, tried, and refined, creating a shared repertoire that stretches across communities. Those cross-border exchanges appear to accelerate cumulative culture in ways that solitary groups rarely achieve, building a web of practical knowledge that travels with kin and neighbors alike.
In contrast, simpler foraging without tools seems less tied to migration and appears to have evolved independently in different places. These tool-free strategies may reflect convergent responses to common ecological challenges rather than active transfer of practices between populations. The findings highlight that not every behavioral innovation travels the same path through space and time; some spread with population movements, while others develop in place as environments shape needs and solutions.
Chimpanzees have made noticeable progress in technology development. For example, some groups discovered a method to crack hard nuts using a stone hammer and anvil. And a particularly inventive group is described as having devised an arrangement that keeps the anvil balanced during repeated strikes. These examples illustrate not only problem solving but also the social dimension of technology, where knowledge can be taught, demonstrated, and replicated across individuals within a community.
Earlier researchers had already noticed striking similarities between human cultural traditions and those of chimpanzees. The new findings add depth to that view, suggesting overlapping patterns of learning, tool use, and social transmission that hint at deep roots of culture shared by humans and our primate relatives. In this light, the study contributes to a broader understanding of how learning, collaboration, and innovation shape behavior across species.