I watched the second video in my anthropology class and my interest was sparked. I went searching and found that is was a portion of a two part video. This video was directed towards a discussion on culture. The main question was did chimpanzees have the ability to create culture, or were they simply able to form societies. But that also begged the question, how unique is man?
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Not quite as unique as we once thought. But the answer to the questions posed before the videos is still yes. The reason that we can say this as compared to other primates with whom we share around 98% of our genetic makeup has a lot to do with language. Our ability to communicate in highly complex language is a major reason for our success over the majority of species. By luck of evolution or creation (whatever you choose to believe) humans received the correct wiring in their brain to be able to communicate and think more deeply. Our long term memory is highly developed and contributes to our ability to form language.
But we are not entirely alone in our abilities. In fact, as the videos show, many primates have a short term memory highly superior to our own. Due to the way the chimpanzees brain is "wired" they have they ability to remember much more quickly than humans. This may have developed out of necessity for the primates. They could use this short term memory to recall where food is, so that when they look away to swing from tree to tree they could remember exactly where to find it. Another example may be when they are being chased by a predator, this quick short term memory could allow them to find an escape route, even if they had only seen the path for 0.65 seconds. A second feature that primates share with humans is the capacity of language. Primates are not nearly as developed in their scope however. They do not possess a large vocabulary, and they do not have the capacity to speak but they can communicate.
We once thought the only similarity between humans and other primates was the opposable thumb, and we have found that to be untrue, the few percentage points of genetic difference between the species makes a large difference when you are counting tens of thousands of genes. This brings the discussion back to the differences between the species and why mankind is more fit to hold the fate of the planet.
Our awareness of the world on a global scale puts humanity on the forefront of change. Despite our cultural and moral differences, mankind has a greater ability to bridge the culture gap than ever before. As the world is rapidly expanding, the gap between groups is rapidly shortening due to technology. And what is exactly is culture, what barriers does it create, problems does it solve?
Culture is roughly defined as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law custom and any other capabilities as a member of society by EB Tylor. This is part of the reason why we as humankind do not believe that other species can create culture, but they can create society. A person with a culture is a member of a society that forms these features. In societies of other species there are often laws and specific customs, but none to the scale of humankind, and not for the same reasons. Societies in the primate world are formed to make life easier on the group, they satisfy the basic needs of food and shelter. But culture within mankind is a living organism, it adapts and changes. Culture is formed to enrich societies both mind and body. Culture is learned, observed, adaptive, evolutionary...the list continues. One thing is also true, culture is unique to humanity, that we can claim.
All this is not to say take pride in our "superiority" but to take responsibility for it. We are the vehicles of revolution, so we need to do something about it.
