New research emerging from a collaboration between the University of St Andrews and Dartmouth College promises to fundamentally reshape our understanding of the evolutionary origins of alcohol metabolism in humans and our closest primate relatives. The study, recently published in the renowned journal BioScience, addresses a long-standing enigma: why humans possess such remarkable efficacy in metabolizing alcohol. This novel investigation reveals that the consumption of fermented fruits, gathered directly from the forest floor—a behavior the researchers term ‘scrumping’—is a critical yet previously underestimated component of great ape ecology that may have set the stage for this evolutionary trait.
At the heart of the study lies detailed observational data tracking the feeding behavior of African great apes across multiple populations and habitats. Contrary to prior assumptions that primates generally avoid fermenting fruit due to alcohol’s potentially toxic effects, the researchers found consistent evidence that chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos frequently consume fruits that have fallen and fermented beneath the canopy. Importantly, orangutans did not display this behavior with any regularity, an interspecies difference that aligns closely with genetic discrepancies in the capacity to metabolize ethanol. Such findings provide a direct behavioral correlate to genetic adaptations observed in these species.
Ethanol, a naturally occurring byproduct of ripe and overripe fruits, accumulates as sugars ferment in warm, humid environments like tropical forests. While previous ecological studies have documented trace amounts of this compound in fruit consumed by various animals, the quantification of scrumping behavior required innovative ethological approaches. The research team employed extensive field observations combined with biochemical assays to ascertain not just the presence of ethanol in consumed fruits but also the frequency and social contexts of its ingestion by multiple ape species. This multi-disciplinary methodology has allowed the unveiling of fermented fruit consumption as an integral, evolutionarily relevant dietary source.
.adsslot_IYrDqWCdj2{ width:728px !important; height:90px !important; }
@media (max-width:1199px) { .adsslot_IYrDqWCdj2{ width:468px !important; height:60px !important; } }
@media (max-width:767px) { .adsslot_IYrDqWCdj2{ width:320px !important; height:50px !important; } }
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the key conceptual breakthroughs in this study lies in the linguistic and cultural framing of the feeding behavior. The team revived and repurposed the archaic English term ‘scrumping,’ generally understood as the act of stealing or gathering windfallen fruit. Intriguingly, this term traces its etymology to the Middle Low German noun ‘schrimpen,’ historically used to describe overripe or fermented fruit. This etymological connection serves as an elegant metaphor for the interplay between observed primate behavior and human cultural practices surrounding fermented fruit and alcohol consumption. It underscores how language and biology can reflect and amplify evolutionary insights.
Beyond simple feeding habits, scrumping appears to be tightly interwoven with the social fabric of these primate communities. Earlier studies have suggested that chimpanzees particularly engage in communal feeding on spoiled or fermented fruits, suggesting a social component to alcohol consumption that may parallel human sociocultural dynamics involving communal drinking. By dissecting the frequency and social contexts of scrumping, the current research opens compelling avenues to explore how early hominids might have developed complex social rituals around fermented substances, forming a potential primordial ritualistic or bonding behavior antecedent to human feasting.
Genetic analyses complement the behavioral data, showing that African great apes harbor a mutation conferring markedly enhanced enzymatic efficiency in metabolizing ethanol—an ability over 40 times greater than that found in orangutans and many other primates. This enzymatic superiority suggests that the evolutionary pressures imposed by scrumping shaped this physiological adaptation, enabling these apes to exploit a resource fraught with both nutritional opportunities and risks. By directly linking behavioral ecology and molecular genetics, the study bridges micro and macroevolutionary perspectives on alcohol consumption.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching. They shed light not only on the dietary ecology of great apes but also provide critical insight into human evolutionary biology, specifically the longstanding fascination and capability of our species to metabolize and socially consume alcohol. More than an abstract biological curiosity, this research suggests that our ancestors’ early interactions with fermented fruits could have laid the biochemical and cultural groundwork for the development of early alcoholic beverages and, by extension, the cultural phenomenon of feasting and communal drinking.
Furthermore, the research revitalizes a visual and historical connection by highlighting gothic art representations of primates engaged in fruit-gathering activities beneath trees, drawn centuries before modern behavioral ecology emerged. This “life imitating art imitating life” narrative offers an intriguing cultural dimension, suggesting that observations of such behaviors have long permeated human consciousness, albeit implicitly, through artistic expression. This interdisciplinary intersection enriches our interpretation of primate behavior within a broader human context.
The research methodology itself, grounded in comprehensive and longitudinal field observations spanning multiple ape communities and habitats, ensures robustness and replicability. The team’s innovative integration of behavioral data with genetic information marks a new frontier in primatology, one where ecological variables and molecular mechanisms can be simultaneously considered to paint a fuller picture of evolutionary trajectories. This is particularly significant given the challenges inherent in observing and quantifying sporadic behaviors like scrumping in wild populations.
One of the central challenges highlighted by co-author Nathaniel Dominy, Charles Hansen Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth, was the absence of an existing term to describe this precise feeding behavior on fermented, fallen fruit. The unavailability of a linguistic framework initially contributed to the behavior being underreported and understudied. By coining and systematically employing ‘scrumping,’ the researchers not only fill a semantic gap but also create a conceptual tool that facilitates more focused future research on this overlooked ecological niche.
Looking ahead, co-lead author Professor Catherine Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews notes that the next critical step involves investigating the role of scrumping in mediating social relationships among non-human apes. Given that human alcohol consumption is deeply enmeshed with social bonding and ritualistic practices, understanding if and how similar social dynamics operate in great apes could offer profound insights into the evolutionary origins of human sociocultural behaviors tied to alcohol. Such research promises to open new behavioral and neurobiological inquiries.
Finally, the study’s narrative poignantly reminds us that our contemporary social customs—whether enjoying a shared cold pint of scrumpy or engaging in festive communal drinking—may echo behaviors that emerged in our ape ancestors as many as 10 million years ago. This perspective imbues modern cultural practices with deep evolutionary significance, rooting seemingly mundane activities within an ancient biological and social continuum. In these revelations lies a testament to the power of interdisciplinary science in uncovering hidden connections between biology, culture, and evolutionary history.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Fermented Fruits: scrumping, sharing, and the origin of feasting
News Publication Date: 31-Jul-2025
Web References:
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf102
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225002817
Image Credits: Credit: Catherine Hobaiter
Keywords: Evolutionary biology
Tags: alcohol metabolism in primateschimpanzee foraging behaviorDartmouth College evolutionary studyevolutionary origins of alcohol tolerancefermented fruit consumptiongorillas and bonobos feeding behaviorgreat ape ecologyhuman evolution and dietinterspecies differences in alcohol metabolismprimate dietary habitssignificance of scrumping in primatesUniversity of St Andrews research