Affiliation:
1. Department of Anthropology Texas A&M University College Station Texas USA
2. Department of Comparative Medicine, Michael E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Bastrop Texas USA
3. Department of Anthropology Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
4. Département de Biologie Animale Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Dakar Senegal
5. Department of Anthropology Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA
Abstract
AbstractObjectivesTo understand the function of food sharing among our early hominin ancestors, we can turn to our nonhuman primate relatives for insight. Here, we examined the function of meat sharing by Fongoli chimpanzees, a community of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in southeastern Sénégal.Materials and MethodsWe tested three non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses that have been used to explain patterns of food sharing: kin selection, generalized reciprocity, and meat‐for‐mating opportunities. We analyzed meat sharing events (n = 484) resulting from hunts, along with data on copulations, age‐sex class, and kinship to determine which variables predict the likelihood of meat sharing during this study period (2006–2019).ResultsWe found full or partial support for kin selection, direct reciprocity, and meat‐for‐mating‐opportunities. However, the analyses reveal that reciprocity and a mother/offspring relationship were the strongest predictors of whether or not an individual shared meat.ConclusionsThe results of this study emphasize the complexity of chimpanzee meat sharing behaviors, especially at a site where social tolerance offers increased opportunities for meat sharing by individuals other than dominant males. These findings can be placed in a referential model to inform hypotheses about the sensitivity of food sharing to environmental pressures, such as resource scarcity in savanna landscapes.
Funder
American Society of Primatologists
Iowa State University
Leakey Foundation
National Geographic Society
National Science Foundation
Primate Conservation
Texas State University
Subject
Paleontology,Archeology,Genetics,Anthropology,Anatomy,Epidemiology
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