Do Orangutans Share Early Human Interest in Odd Objects?

Antony Borel,* Yohan Ajzenherc,* Marie-Hélène Moncel, Michel Saint Jalme, and Sabrina Krief

Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département de Préhistoire, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7194-MNHN/CNRS, Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, Paris, France (Borel and Moncel; borel@mnhn.fr)/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7206-MNHN/CNRS/P7, Éco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Paris, France (Ajzenherc and Krief)/Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary (Borel)/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, Paris, France (Ajzenherc and Saint Jalme)/Projet pour la Conservation des Grands Singes, Sebitoli Station, Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda (Krief).

*These authors contributed equally to this work.

SUBMITTED: Apr 28, 2015

ACCEPTED: Dec 02, 2015

ONLINE: Oct 17, 2016

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Abstract

Archaeological discoveries suggest that human interest in odd objects emerged as early as the end of the Lower Paleolithic with Homo erectus, although it is still difficult to understand why early humans collected these objects. Several studies show that nonhuman primates are able to appreciate the physical characteristics of their tools, but their interest in the physical properties of nonutilitarian objects has, to our knowledge, never been tested. Here, objects of different brightness, color, and shape were proposed to five orangutans to test whether odd objects intrigue orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and whether they induce specific and noticeable behavior. This preliminary experiment shows that orangutans are responsive to the physical properties of nonutilitarian objects, particularly visually striking, bright, and colorful objects. Our experiment shows that these are the most manipulated pieces, regardless of their respective proportions. However, unlike (early) humans, orangutans did not show any tendency to preserve objects.

Antony Borel,* Yohan Ajzenherc,* Marie-Hélène Moncel, Michel Saint Jalme, andSabrina Krief, "Do Orangutans Share Early Human Interest in Odd Objects?," Current Anthropology 0, no. 0 (-Not available-): 000.

DOI: 10.1086/688855