Why We're Different: Probing the Gap Between Apes and Humans

Science 25 January 2008: Vol. 319. no. 5862, pp. 404 - 405
Michael Balter

We sometimes see apes and monkeys in the movies, but we never see them at the movies. Although nonhuman primates can do remarkable things--chimps have rudimentary cultures, and some monkeys have highly complex social systems--none shows the kind of creativity and innovation that are the hallmarks of Homo sapiens. Researchers have long puzzled about which human behaviors stem from our primate roots and which are unique to the hominid line.
Beginning in the 1960s, scientists focused on the similarities, as lab and field studies revealed that the cognitive talents of other primates had been underestimated. But during the past decade or so, researchers say, there has been renewed interest in the traits that set us apart. At a recent meeting* here, anthropologist Carel van Schaik of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, emphasized this evolutionary divergence. "Mind the gap!" he said in a keynote talk. "Humans have a huge number of [novel] characteristics." Indeed, participants at the meeting, which was designed to compare and contrast humans and nonhuman primates, demonstrated several of these seemingly unique human behaviors: advanced planning (the conference was months in the making), social organization and cooperation (everyone showed up at the same time and place), and culture and teaching through language.

At the conference, researchers heard evidence that many of these behaviors, such as planning, may have deep evolutionary roots. But some talents, such as cultural innovation, seem unique to our species, and others, including altruism, may represent a novel blend of old and new characteristics. The challenge now, says van Schaik, "is to figure out how one ape among many--humans--could become so radically different."

more....http://www.sciencemag.org