Pan Troglodytes Essay

In the Article “The 2% Difference” by Robert Sapolsky explains that scientists have decoded the chimpanzee genome to discover 98 percent of human DNA is similar. In Sapolsky article he goes on to explain the two percent difference humans and chimpanzee. A few of his discovered was that “Chimps excel at climbing trees, but we beat them hands down at balance-beam routine; they are covered in hair, while we have only the occasional guy with really hair shoulders” (Angeloni pp.40 2016). Physically we look different and can do different physical activities then chimpanzee. Sapolsky continues by saying how we have differences in social behavior. It is known

Throughout the term, reading the book, “Through a Window” by Jane Goodall has been quite intriguing for me, in that it has inspired me with new ideas and perceptions about how our own species has evolved over time. I have really enjoyed seeing the many similarities that hominids share with other primate species, especially chimpanzees. Goodall’s research only further proves that we are not only extremely biologically similar to chimpanzees in our DNA, but have many behavioral similarities as well. The film, “Monkey in the Mirror” also shows support for our likeness in intellectuality. These documented findings on chimpanzee and human resemblances provides the strong evidence needed to conclude the fact that humans do indeed share a common ancestor with great apes.

Many attributes found in humans are also found in chimps. Similar to humans, chimps have long childhoods which involve long term affection, bonds and learning. Like humans, chimps display nonverbal communication through Kissing, holding hands and fist shaking. They also show emotion and personality which is thought to be a human attribute (Goodall, 2002). They say we are only 4% smarter than chimps, what defines smart? If we are so smart, why are we destroying our planet? Chimps have been doing the same thing for millions of years without damaging their environment. Maybe we should not ask who is smarter, but who is wiser.

Katherine Pollard, a biostatisician at Gladstone Institutes at University of California, San Francisco has worked to identify DNA sequences that set the human genome apart from chimpanzees since 2003. She wrote a computer program to identify the DNA sequences that differ between humans and chimpanzees. Pollard explains the “ticking of the molecular clock” rate of change in genetic mutation by saying that “…those parts of the code that have undergone the most modification since the chimp-human split are the sequences that most likely shaped humankind.” In November of 2004, after months of work developing a computer program that would sift through 2,000 plus DNA letters per second, Pollard finally had her list of rapidly evolving DNA sequences.

     The cultural transmission of a communication system through learning is a fundamental attribute of language. Trained chimpanzee’s Washoe and Lucy have tried to teach Ameslan to other animals, including their own offspring. Washoe has taught gestures to other chimps at the institute where she is, including her son, Sequoia, who died when he was very young. There has been other cases of cultural transmission from chimp to chimp.

There are many instances in Through a Window that showed me how alike chimpanzees and humans really are. For example, on page fifteen, Goodall talks about Lucy. Lucy is a chimpanzee that is trained as if she were a human. She is able to identify pictures and call them by their names, such as “blue” and “dog”. Although Lucy could not verbally say these words, she used American Sign Language, which I think is even more impressive! Chimpanzees are just like babies in this way, they soak up so much information and are able to apply it within their own life. Goodall compares humans and chimpanzees on page sixteen, showing how the anatomy of both brains are very similar, “There are equally striking similarities between humans and chimpanzees in the anatomy and wiring of the brain and nervous system, and – although many scientists have been reluctant to admit this – in social behavior, intellectual abilities and emotions.” It is also proven that chimpanzees can catch human viruses and diseases, unlike other non-human animals. Another example of how humans and chimpanzees are alike was shown when Goodall talked about the baby chimps. Infant chimps are in need of the same things as human infants, “And one cannot watch chimpanzee infants for long without realizing that they have the same emotional need for affection and reassurance as human children.” (Goodall, page 19). Not only do baby chimpanzees need love and affection like humans, they also learn by imitation. A

“In their natural homes in the wild, chimpanzees humans’ closest living genetic relatives”, who are more like us than they’re like gorillas are never separated from their families and troops . “Profoundly social beings, they spend every day together exploring, crafting and using tools to solve problems, foraging, playing, grooming each other, and making soft nests for sleeping each night” . They care deeply for their families and forge lifelong friendships . Chimpanzee mothers are loving and protective, nursing their infants and sharing their nests with them for four to six years . They have excellent memories and share cultural traditions with their children and peers . They empathize with one another and console their friends when they’re upset . They help others, even at a personal cost to themselves . When one of another

Non-human primates’ communication based on a limited range of sounds and gestures. Human communication is far more focused on the use of oral sounds. The human voice and non-human primate vocalizations are characterized by important differences. Our speech is radically different from other sounds used by non-human primates to communicate. Vocal perception abilities through conspecific vocalizations are important in social interactions. Only human possess speech perception to communicate in a highly efficient manner (Belin, 2006). Human and non-human primates’ vocalization differs in the morphology of the vocal apparatus and acoustic structure (Fitch 2000, 2003). Primates such as monkeys possess vocal folds in the vocal tract which are absent in humans (Schon Ybarra 1995). The larynx in the vocal tract of human is much lower compared to the non-human primates. The lowered larynx allows the increase of flexibility of the tongue and thus yielding a large range of frequencies. In contrast, higher larynx leads to inflexibility of the tongue thus limiting the non-human primates’ ability to yield acoustically distinct sounds through their vocal tract (Belin, 2006). In addition, non-human primates do not use their tongue to modify the shape of the vocal tract for the production of sound. The distinct production of human speech involves

Primates have always been viewed as a species that communicates by hand signals and other bodily gestures. The view that is now seen is that “comparative evidence suggests that primates are able, no less than humans, to intellectually perform and understand impulsive or habitual communicational

According to my observation, even though Chimpanzee, and Gorilla are similar, they differ in many other ways when we go deeper in physical, and behavioral traits. However, both species also share the majority part of their DNA with Humans. Based on some reliable researches, some scientists realized that humans did not come from apes but instead shared common ancestors. As a matter of fact, humans and Primates are different, but share most of their genome, explaining why we found some similar patterns of behavior among humans, and

Like human beings, animals also communicate among themselves through gestures and body movements. Monkeys always carry their

Further expanding on social habits of chimpanzees, their communication habits should not be overlooked. They have several and many different

There isn’t a big difference between humans and chimps as we once thought. Humans, chimps and bonobos descended from a single ancestor species that lived six million years ago. Gradually evolution has evolved them to become three separate species. Although they come from a common ancestor, their DNA that was passed down from generation to generation has changed due to adaptations in the gene, environmental factors, reproductive fitness, and mate selection. Bones and muscle tissue are the same in both species.

Human and chimpanzees are extremely similar leading to the common misconception that we actually evolved from them. Our DNA is approximately 98.8 percent identical rather suggesting a common ancestor. This is truly captivating when you think about it. The fact that we are extremely analogous on the microscopic level yet so different on the macroscopic level is interesting. When considering the relatively identical DNA sequences it is essential to note that there are nearly 3 billion base pairs or so in human and chimpanzees DNA. The 1.2 percent difference in a chimps DNA equals nearly 35 million variations. Some of these differences clearly have larger influences than others. However, I believe the major phenotypic differences are actually

Emotions play an extremely important role in human mental life. Unlike the chimpanzee, human emotions are easier to read because of their physical responses such as tears in their eyes or their lips changing shape. In the same way as chimpanzees, humans use gestures to communicate with each other, yet they use words instead of sounds.