I wrote this in a college essay and I felt I should share it as I found this topic very interesting.

The recent study of chimpanzees, bonobos and other primates has in fact made an astonishing impact of what was recently thought about non-human primates. The truth to the matter is that these animals are actually more intelligent and mentally capable than recently thought to be. Some researchers are even saying that these primates’ poses levels and types of intelligence thought only to be used by humans. These tests and studies conducted show unequivocal demonstrations of advanced mental capabilities that prove that primates are our closest relatives. Primates are intelligent mammals and do show demonstrations of unique mental capacity, but there are other explanations as well as these tests that show how these animals are so relatively similar to humans. Some of these explanations relate to the early stages of human growth after a newborn comes into this world. The fact that primates do similar things as us humans is probably the most ideal explanation of why we are so similar.

In the early stages of life as a human we cant walk, talk, or see anything. Like primates our mother/father must look after us in order to survive. During this time we are dependant on our parents to look after us. Like humans, primates need parental care until they have fully matured. The only big difference is that non-human primates don’t take as long as humans to fully mature. Primates might take around 6-7 years to fully mature while humans need 17-18 years until they are ready to be off on their own. During the first couple of years developing non-human primates and humans are neck in neck in the development race. They develop at the same rate and they posses the same abilities mentally as each other. However by the time a human child is able to put together blocks and simple block puzzles is where the non-human primate falls behind. Another factor that distinguishes non-human primates alike from us is the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror. Humans and primates are some of the few mammals that are capable of doing this. This proves that apes have a bigger mental capacity then recently thought. “The relatively large and absolutely more complex brains of primates allow them to take in, store, retrieve, and process more information in more complicated ways than other mammals” (Feder 116).

Non-human primates also have the ability to store and memorize information that is present in the outside world. In some cases primates can actually be better at these things than humans. In Japan there was a test conducted using a TV screen where “students and chimps saw an array of five of the numerals 1 through 9 flash onto a computer screen for just 650 milliseconds. When the numerals simultaneously turned into white squares, the subjects had to touch the squares in numerical order. The students managed to choose the squares in the correct order around 80 percent of the time, as did Ayumu, a young chimp, says Kyoto's Tetsuro Matsuzawa. The researchers then shortened the viewing time to 430 ms and finally to just 210 ms, which isn't even enough time for a person's eye to scan across a screen. For the briefest exposures, the students got the sequence right only 40 percent of the time, but Ayumu still managed nearly 80 percent accuracy” (Milius 355). Chimps have similar metal capacity than humans. Ayumu the chimp was able to memorize the numbers just like the humans and even better than when put to faster flashing speeds. It is said that the chimp probably has good photogenic memory. Maybe non-human primates are more perceptive in this area for a reason, its what they do in the wild that requires this sort of memory or mental capacity. It’s the perceptive memory that helps them recognize trees and areas in which they live in. For humans we might not be as well perceptive simply because the world we live in is more easily distinguishable. “The power to retain extreme detail from a quick glimpse shows up occasionally in young children but fades with age” (Milius 355). So humans might not be as perceptive as young chimps but it’s really close enough to make a point on how similar we truly are to apes mentally as well as the physical characteristics.

Chimpanzees and other non-human primates show each other how they are in control by picking bugs out of one another’s hair. Humans in similar ways do the same thing to show dominance over one another. The big difference between human and ape behavior is the fact that dominance is usually displayed through language instead of the ape’s way of physically doing so by combing the hair. Combing the hair of another group member in a chimpanzee’s world shows dominance but it also shows that they use this to keep leaders and members in their groups. Humans use persuasion through language to keep group members. The most similar thing is the fact that non-human primates and humans both have groups in their society and they both use a form of persuasion to keep control if they are the dominate ones within the group. Humans always have one dominate leader. We do so by voting for our leader and in a similar way primates get to choose who they want as their leader. It’s the communication and grouping factors that also provide support that we are similar mentally to that of a non-human primate.

Primates are intelligent mammals and they show demonstrations of unique mental capacity. These tests as well as explanations show how humans are so relatively similar to non-human primates. The most important factor that actually shows how primates are different from humans is the fact that they do not posses the ability to understand language. That’s one of the main things that set us apart from non-human primates as well as the physical characteristics. After looking at some of these researchers results as well as the similar characteristics with humans. It’s safe to say that primates display similar levels and types of intelligence as well as mental capacity then that of humans. Primates are our closest relatives, but this even further concludes how similar these animals truly are to us.


Bibloigraphy

Feder, Kenneth L. Park, Michael Allan. Human Antiquity. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Milius, Susan. “Chimp Champ: Ape aces memory test, outscores people.” Science News. December 8, 2007: 355. Society for Science & the Public. 11 March. 2008
<http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071208/fob2.asp>

I have heard about similar studies many times... It seems a 2 year old child is mentally exactly like a mature chimp. I think they have the brain capacity to process and interpret all the senses, but they don't have the practice of doing so. While our brain has exercised for thousands or millions of years primates brain remained basically unused. While it is said we humans only use 10% of our brain capacity the apes only use barely 1%. Besides this results are expected since the chimpanzee and the bonobos (also a chimpanzee) are our nearest living relative. Our species separated some 6 million years ago. It may seem much, but on an evolutionary scale that is rather only a little. Not to mention we share over 97% of our DNA with the chimps...
But we have to remember there are more animals with highly developed brains. Take for example the dolphins. Some scientists say that intelligence is in fact the brain mass / brain mass required to control the body functions. In other words they say intelligence is the excess of brain matter. We humans have a 9 ratio (we have 9 times more brain then our body needs) while the next animal in line is not the ape, but the dolphin with a ratio of 7. So you see we aren't much smarter then dolphins are. But we have trained our brains, while the dolphins are barely scratching the surface of their brain possibilities.

This post has been edited by adriantc: Apr 3 2008, 07:34 AM