The Tool Repertoire of Bossou Chimpanzees

Abstract

Chimpanzees make and use a diverse and rich kit of tools and, with the exception of humans, they are the only living primates to at least habitually use and make tools and rely on tool use during their daily activities. Tool-use behavior in chim- panzees (Pan troglodytes) has been observed at all field sites where chimpanzees have been studied (Whiten et al. 1999, 2001). The use of tools is the most acces- sible form of culture among chimpanzees. Such elementary technology denotes the knowledgeable use of one or more physical objects as a means to achieve an end, and is termed material culture if standardized in a collective way that is character- istic of a group of individuals of a same species (McGrew 2004). Each community of chimpanzees has a unique cultural repertoire of tool-use behaviors within the feeding, social, and hygiene domains that differs from that of other communities (McGrew 1992; Whiten et al. 1999, 2001; Nakamura and Nishida 2006; see Chaps. 7–14). We see below how the tool kit of the Bossou community is quite remarkable in its diversity, complexity, and uniqueness.