Bonobos and Chimps: What our closest relatives tell us about humans

Humans seem to have incorporated the traits of both species. Our tendency for conflict mirrors the competitiveness of chimpanzees, and yet the bonobos teach us that we have it in us to be altruistic and that society can be organised in more peaceful ways.

JOSE YONG: Humans are an interesting mixture of altruism and competition. We work together well at times and at others we will fight to get our own way. To try to explain these conflicting tendencies, researchers have turned to the chimpanzees and the bonobos for insight. Among the great apes, the chimpanzees and the bonobos are the most genetically related to us as we share about 98.7% of our DNA with them. We share a common ancestor with them as well as anatomical features, complex social hierarchies and problem-solving skills.

Bonobos may be one of our closest cousins but chimpanzees dominated research after Jane Goodall discovered in the 1960s that chimpanzees make and use tools. This finding paved the way for research on chimpanzees as a lens to understand which human aspects are natural rather than socially conditioned. An array of human characteristics, including empathy, playfulness and respect for elders have since been attributed to our shared ancestry with chimpanzees…

However, one disturbing characteristic stands out. Chimpanzees “go ape” and attack each other in coordinated assaults… One argument scientists have made is that these warlike tendencies are hardwired in us the same way they are hardwired in chimpanzees… J. B. Mulcahy, co-director at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in the US, believes aggression only “makes up a very small part of their daily activity”. So some scientists may have overemphasised this trait. Increasingly, research is actually showing how cooperative chimpanzees can be…

Unlike the male-dominated groups of chimpanzees, bonobos live in peaceful communities where the chief is female. Indeed, human societies tend to be matriarchal when there is little direct competition for resources. In bonobo communities, sexual relations play an important role in maintaining relationships and resolving conflicts… There is plenty of sexual play and grooming reminiscent of our own free love movements in hippie culture. While the alpha female is typically smaller than the males, all the females will rally around her to chase the males away should they turn aggressive…

Bonobos are also rather eager to share… They have been observed sharing food with those outside of their group, perhaps to make new friends. And they demonstrate a willingness to help others obtain food even if they won’t get to share it… Bonobos may even have better social intelligence than chimpanzees… Bonobos have brain circuits that seem more predisposed to sharing, tolerance, negotiation and cooperation than chimpanzees…

So where exactly do humans stand? We seem to have incorporated the traits of both species, resulting in a tension between our aggressive and harmonious proclivities. Our tendency for conflict mirrors the competitiveness of chimpanzees, and yet the bonobos teach us that we have it in us to be altruistic and that society can be organised in more peaceful ways. SOURCE…

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