Children of a Hirsute God

demagogue on 16/3/2016 at 06:28

My intuition is we as humans do have the same experience, the same impulse to do some repetitive kinetic action for the thrill of the way the thing bumps around and the special kind of clunk sound it makes. I just wouldn't use the word ritual for that kind of practice. "Ritual" makes it sound like you set aside a time to do just that thing for its own sake, whereas I think with the monkeys it's just a thing of opportunity they do when the occasion presents itself. Well really there may not be much difference. I just don't like the term "ritual" itself, and generally for behavioral norms I don't like shoving them into pithy categories, since I feel like their complex practices and simple terms do more bad than good.

SD on 16/3/2016 at 11:54

I'd be surprised if it was ritual behaviour. Chimps seem far too smart to believe in God.

PigLick on 16/3/2016 at 12:13

its sport, see who can be the best rock thrower, and then BREAK THAT RECORD.

faetal on 16/3/2016 at 15:35

Maybe they're tidying? Stepping on rocks (nature's Lego) all of the time probably gets old.

Nicker on 16/3/2016 at 17:50

Quote Posted by Tocky

Ritual doesn't have to apply to religion.

I think the implication of the article is that the behaviour was ritual in the religious sense (imbued with abstract meaning), rather than an empty, repeated (if comforting) action. So the rock-stacking might be the latter but for chimps, could not be the former.

But you do raise an interesting chicken/egg question about language. Humans appear to have the most elaborate capacities for semantics (language) and abstraction. Which came first or are they really just aspects of the same brain function?

Tocky on 18/3/2016 at 04:20

Yeah. The article jumped the conclusion shark on that bit of science wonky.

I'll go with your latter on the latter. It's not about the bird in the bush. It's about the bush.

Nicker on 29/3/2016 at 13:30

Here's some information from a researcher involved in the direct observation of this behaviour.

(http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/quirks-quarks-for-mar-26-2016-1.3506058/why-do-chimps-throw-stones-at-trees-1.3506116)

In short - chimps are likely agnostics... or are they?

Quote:

Although there is no overarching, agreed-upon definition of ritual, similarities between ritualized animal behaviour and the repeated, stereotyped behaviours commonly observed during human rituals have already been proposed by anthropologists and ethologists as having a common origin, as well as sharing similar neurological pathways.

(http://www.nature.com/articles/srep22219)

SD on 29/3/2016 at 14:52

I am reserving judgment until they start voting Republican.

Medlar on 29/3/2016 at 15:22

Here, we describe newly discovered stone tool-use behaviour and stone accumulation

Looks like the chimps discovered sheds, I bet there's a petrified lawn mower in that stump.

Tocky on 30/3/2016 at 02:42

WE are the only Gods animals know. Being a slight advancement we seem magical in our ability to affect our environment. However we fail to live up to the assessment. And we have yet to fool bears, lions, tigers, sharks, and wolves. Dogs, bless their stupid hearts, are our loving wards. That chimps have religion is obvious garbage.