Evolutionary Roots of Human Teamwork Discovered in Chimpanzees

Considering how social chimps are, are we really surprised that scientists have found that they demonstrate teamwork? New research shows that these primates have something else in common with humans--they demonstrate a trait that has been fundamental in some of humanity's greatest achievements.

The new findings, published in Biology Letters, examined pairs of chimpanzees in order to assess how well they worked together. In total, 12 chimps from Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya took part.

Each pair was given tools in order to get grapes out of a sealed, plastic box. One chimp had to work at the back of the box while at the same time the other chimp had to work at the front. Both tools were given to only one chimp that then had to decide which tool to pass to the other.

At the end of the experiment, ten out of the 12 chimps figured out that they had to give one of the tools to their partner in order to solve the problem. In addition, the chimps chose the correct tool to use about 73 percent of the time.

"The study provides the first evidence that chimpanzees can pay attention to the partner's actions in a collaborative task, and shows they know their partner not only has to be there, but perform a specific role if they are to succeed," said Alicia Melis, one of the researchers, in a press release.

What is more interesting, though, is that while other animals cooperate in order to achieve mutually beneficial goals, the chimps demonstrated a capacity to use intentional coordination. Essentially, they were employing the same sort of teamwork often witnessed in humans.

"These are skills shared by both chimpanzees and humans," said Melis in a press release. "So such skills may have been present in their common ancestor before humans evolved their own complex forms of collaboration."

While not surprising, the research is certainly interesting. It shows that while other species don't get along, both chimps and humans are good to have on your team.