Chimpanzee food preferences, associative learning, and the origins of cooking

Abstract

A recent report suggested that chimpanzees demonstrate the cognitive capacities necessary to understand cooking (Warneken & Rosati, 2015). We offer alternate explanations and mechanisms that could account for the behavioral responses of those chimpanzees without invoking the understanding of cooking as a process. We discuss broader issues surrounding the use of chimpanzees in modeling hominid behavior and understanding aspects of human evolution.

Chimpanzees, cooking, and a more comparative psychology

“…We have outlined why eating high-preference foods, and why taking more familiar and low-preference foods to the cooker over taking unfamiliar things, are both explained by competing response strengths (Beran, Hopper, de Waal, Sayers, & Brosnan, 2015). Rosati and Warneken (2016) suggest that the speed with which the chimpanzees learned to use the Bcooking pot^to get preferred cooked food might argue against an associative-learning interpretation, and this is a reasonable claim.…”

“…We offered alternative explanations and mechanisms that could account for the behavioral responses of those chimpanzees, and questioned the manner in which the data were used to examine human evolution (Beran, Hopper, de Waal, Sayers, & Brosnan, 2015). Two commentaries suggested either that we were overly critical of the original report's claims and methodology (Rosati & Warneken, 2016), or that, contrary to our statements, early biological thinkers contributed little to questions concerning the evolutionary importance of cooking (Wrangham, 2016).…”

Future-oriented objects

“…Before the food is cooked, the reward does not yet exist. Hence, saving raw food probably indicates the ability to anticipate the future situation of cooked food being available (see Beran et al 2016 for an alternative associative-reasoning explanation). Anticipating that objects will change in the future is also necessary to understand many other aspects of the world, including agriculture (e.g., seeds will grow into plants) and crafting (e.g., clay will harden, paint will dry).…”

The curiously long absence of cooking in evolutionary thought

“…The early hypothesis is relevant to Beran et al's (2015) critique of Warneken & Rosati (2015). Beran et al (2015) argued that Bwhen gauging the advent of uniquely human traits^only species from Homo erectus onwards should be studied.…”

“…Beran et al (2015) argued that Bwhen gauging the advent of uniquely human traits^only species from Homo erectus onwards should be studied. But the proposal that Warneken & Rosati addressed with their experiments was that the emergence of Homo erectus depended on a late australopithecine discovering the advantages of the control of fire.…”