Primates show human characteristics

A researcher at Iowa State University, Jill Pruetz, has witnessed the sharing of various foods and tools among Fongoli chimpanzees, a characteristic once thought to be uniquely human. Pruetz says that this is important because, "it's not exactly the same, but it may give you an idea of how it [sharing among early humans] started.” In the past when food-sharing was witnessed in primates, it was thought to be done primarily as a product of a food-for-sex understanding between males and females, however parts of Pruetz’s study suggests that other factors may facilitate food and tool sharing.

-Janice Bitters