Data from: Temporal stability of chimpanzee social culture University of Antwerp
Culture is a hallmark of the human species, both in terms of the transmission of material inventions (e.g., tool manufacturing) and the adherence to social conventions (e.g., greeting mannerisms). While material culture has been reported across the animal kingdom, indications of social culture in animals are limited. Moreover, there is a paucity in evidencing cultural stability in animals. Here, based on a large dataset spanning 12 years, I show that chimpanzees adhere to arbitrary group-specific handclasp preferences that cannot be explained by genetics or the ecological environment. Despite ...