In the dense forests of Kibale National Park, Uganda, a groundbreaking study has unveiled that young chimpanzees possess a remarkable capacity for innovation, challenging traditional views on the role of juveniles in cultural evolution. Conducted by a team of scientists led by an anthropologist at Université de Montréal, this research illuminates how infant and juvenile chimpanzees not only learn from adults but actively contribute to the evolution of culture through their creative use of tools. Published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports, the study sheds new light on the developmental pathways that underpin innovation and creativity in non-human primates, offering critical insights into the evolution of human culture itself.
The researchers focused on a population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living in the wild at the Ngogo research site. Over a span of 15 months distributed between 2013–2014 and 2018, they meticulously observed 36 immature chimpanzees, cataloging a total of 67 different instances where objects were used in ways that diverged from typical adult behavior. Nearly half of these documented interactions were classified as atypical, featuring new methods or modifications of existing adult tool-use behaviors. This discovery fundamentally contradicts the long-held assumption that juveniles in primate societies are merely passive imitators rather than active innovators.
The significance of these findings emerged through the identification of three particularly striking innovations among the young chimps. These included the use of moss as a sponge to soak up water for drinking, the playful adoption of a tree stump as a “doll,” and an inventive method of leaf clipping to signal the desire to be carried by their mothers. These behaviors suggest not only cognitive flexibility but also the presence of complex social communication and experimentation that extends beyond imitation of adult norms. The researchers found that these innovative behaviors often arose through playful experimentation, illuminating the critical role of early-life exploration in cultural innovation.
Such behaviors support a broader theoretical framework in evolutionary anthropology that posits juveniles as catalysts for cultural variation and change. As associate professor of anthropology at UdeM explains, “Children are not just recipients of cultural knowledge but key agents in evolving culture through creativity and experimentation.” Unlike adults, whose actions tend to conform to established social norms, juveniles possess the latitude to explore and modify behaviors, introducing novelty. This process of innovation and subsequent transmission through social learning mechanisms can accelerate cultural complexity and diversification over time.
Central to the study was the development of a novel “exploration index,” a metric designed to quantify individual differences in behavior by integrating measures of frequency, diversity, and atypicality of object use. The findings revealed that a subset of the juvenile chimpanzees displayed significantly higher scores, indicating a pronounced propensity for creative exploration. Interestingly, these more exploratory individuals were predominantly female or offspring of experienced mothers who had multiple offspring, suggesting that social environment and kin support profoundly influence the likelihood of innovation. This points toward the importance of both intrinsic individual variation and extrinsic social factors in shaping cognitive and behavioral development.
The implications of this research extend beyond ethology and primatology into the broader realm of cultural evolution and developmental psychology. The presence of innovative behaviors in young chimpanzees parallels observations in human children, who similarly exhibit high levels of curiosity and experimentation during critical developmental windows. By studying chimpanzee juveniles as a close evolutionary outgroup, researchers gain a comparative model for understanding how the capacity for innovation evolved in our own lineage. This aligns with the growing recognition that cultural evolution is underpinned by a dynamic interplay between individual creativity and social learning.
Moreover, the findings emphasize the evolutionary advantages of permitting juveniles a permissive social environment conducive to exploration and object play. Such environmental conditions may foster behavioral variation by allowing immature individuals to deviate from normative behaviors without social penalties. These behavioral variants can then be retained and disseminated through social transmission, contributing cumulatively to cultural complexity. The study thereby reinforces the concept that innovation is not merely a rare event but an ongoing developmental process embedded within social contexts.
The research also challenges the traditional adult-centric perspective common in studies of tool use and cultural transmission. While adult chimpanzees exhibit sophisticated tool-use behaviors, their patterns reflect established methods that are often rigidly maintained within groups. By contrast, juveniles actively experiment with objects, engage in novel uses, and adapt tools to new functions and contexts. This juvenile flexibility acts as a generative force, infusing their social groups with new behavioral variants and potentially driving cultural evolution forward. The researchers argue for a reevaluation of the roles juveniles play in the continuity and transformation of culture.
Another intriguing aspect uncovered by the study involves the diverse social applications of tool use among chimpanzee juveniles. Beyond foraging activities such as honey extraction and termite fishing, young chimps use tools in social contexts, such as ‘leaf grooming,’ an activity analogous to adult mutual grooming but with individual nuances. These multifaceted uses reflect a complex suite of cognitive skills, including problem-solving, manipulation, and social communication. The adaptability and creativity observed in these young primates underscore the intricate developmental process by which tool use and culture emerge.
The study’s methodology, centered on long-term field observations combined with quantitative behavioral scoring, demonstrates the power of interdisciplinary research integrating anthropology, ethology, and cognitive science. By coupling detailed naturalistic observations with rigorous analytical frameworks such as the exploration index, the researchers offer a robust model for future investigations into the ontogeny of innovation. This approach enables the disentangling of individual variation from population-level cultural trends, providing a deeper understanding of how behavioral repertoires are constructed and modified.
Importantly, the research also highlights that innovation during immature stages is often subtle and occurs “at the margins” of species-typical behavior rather than wholesale departures from norms. This nuance suggests that innovations are incremental and context-dependent, surfacing through minor adaptations and novel combinations rather than radical inventions. Such small-scale variations can accumulate, however, to result in significant cultural shifts over evolutionary timescales, especially if they confer adaptive advantages and are socially learned and retained.
Ultimately, this pioneering study contributes to a growing literature that positions juveniles as pivotal figures in the cultural evolution of primates and humans. It urges researchers across disciplines to pay closer attention to the dynamic and creative capacities of young individuals in shaping behavioral traditions and cultural complexity. As the team concludes, the cultivation of a supportive social environment for juvenile exploration provides the critical developmental context within which innovation can flourish, ensuring the ongoing evolution of culture within primate societies—and potentially within our own.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Atypical tool and object use in wild immature chimpanzees reveals developmental pathways to innovation
News Publication Date: 17-Oct-2025
Web References:
10.1038/s41598-025-20487-8
Keywords: Anthropology, Ethology
Tags: atypical tool use in chimpanzeeschimpanzee learning from adultscreativity in non-human primatescultural evolution in primatesevolution of human culture insightsgroundbreaking findings in animal behaviorjuvenile tool use behaviorsKibale National Park studyPan troglodytes schweinfurthii behaviorsresearch on primate developmentUniversité de Montréal anthropology studyyoung chimpanzees innovation capacity
