Do Chimpanzees Drum? An Analysis of Chimpanzee Rhythmic Drumming
- 演化之聲
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Rhythmic drumming is found in every known human culture and is thought to be one of the earliest forms of musical expression to evolve. Human rhythmic drumming also displays several key characteristics, including differences among individuals and regions, as well as widespread structural features shared across musical traditions, such as non-random rhythmic organization and isochrony.
Studying drumming behavior in our closest living relatives may help reveal the evolutionary origins of human rhythmicity. Like humans, chimpanzees and bonobos also produce sounds by striking external objects. For example, wild chimpanzees drum on resonant tree buttress roots, showing individual differences in drumming behavior during travel or rest. They also frequently incorporate drumming into their long-distance pant-hoot vocalizations.
However, it has remained unclear whether wild chimpanzee drumming contains musical structural features, and whether rhythmic patterns or the timing of drumming relative to pant-hoots differ among populations. To investigate this, researchers analyzed drumming behavior during resting periods in six populations representing two chimpanzee subspecies: the western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) and the eastern chimpanzee (P. t. schweinfurthii).
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