Bonobo’s Demonstrate Higher Intellectual Abilities Through Communication

        Video of bonobo cognition study conducted by Townrow and Krupenye

 

For many decades scholars believed that nonhuman primates did not have the same level of intelligence of humans.  Nonhuman primates were passed off as wild and simple creatures that were inferior to modern humans.  Long gone are those days and inaccurate ideas, though.  This blog has addressed various aspects of nonhuman primates’ cognitive (or intellectual) abilities, including various ape species’ ability to learn and communicate with sign language and ape species’ ability to combine calls to communicate more than one message.  Today’s blog post adds one more line of evidence that demonstrates nonhuman primates, particularly apes, are smarter than we originally realized.  Apes demonstrate a cognitive ability known as theory of the mind.

 

Theory of the mind is understanding that someone lacks information and moving forward appropriately (e.g., providing them the information or keeping the information secret, depending on the circumstances).  Ultimately, the purpose of theory of the mind is that it acts as a means of cooperation among individuals.  People will share information with each other, particularly those ignorant of a situation, in order to incorporate them into the group and strengthen group bonds. 

 

This ability had been hinted at as being present among various wild ape species from observations by primatologists, but it was unclear if what the primatologists were seeing was indeed cognition or mimicry.  For example, primatologists observed cooperative hunting among chimpanzees wherein one member would alert the group to either a dangerous predator or tasty prey, but it was unclear if others would mimic the actions of the one or if they understood what was being communicated (e.g., running because everyone was running or running because they understood the purpose).  This led two researchers out of John Hopkins University, Luke Townrow and Christopher Krupenye, to test whether or not nonhuman primates did indeed have cognitive abilities linked to the theory of the mind.

 

Townrow and Krupenye conducted their experiment at the Ape Initiative in Iowa.  They selected three male bonobos, Nyota, age 25; Kanzi, age 43; Teco, 13, to engage in their experiment.  They set up their experiment to involve three overturned cups placed on a table, and an experimenter would place a treat under one of the cups.  They then split the experiment into two trials.  In the first trials both a human and a bonobo would watch the experimenter place the treat under the cup.  The human would have to retrieve the treat to give to the bonobo.  This was done easily since the human watched where the treat was placed and could quickly retrieve it.  In the second trials deception was introduced.  This time only the bonobo saw where the treat was placed (as a barrier was placed in front of the human).  The bonobo would point to the cup and the human would wait 10 seconds, perusing the three cups to figure out which one had the treat.  As this trial was repeated the bonobo would point more quickly to the cup with the hidden treat, recognizing the human’s ignorance to where the treat was placed.  A video of the experiment is provided above.

 

The researchers concluded that the results provide definitive evidence of ape species’ ability to understand different perspectives from their own (i.e., another individual does not know something or understands the situation differently).  This further supports the previous observations among wild ape species, which means that cooperation among wild apes is not based on imitation but cooperation.  This study demonstrates that the cognitive ability of theory of the mind must have been present within the common human-ape ancestor, and it also shows that language is not required for the existence of this cognitive ability.  Ultimately, this revolutionizing our ideas and understandings of apes and humans, particularly related to intelligence.

 

Works Cited

Bassi, Margherita. "When Bonobos Know What You Don’t, They’ll Tell You. It’s a Sign of a Cognitive Ability Called ‘Theory of Mind’." Smithsonian Magazine 5 February 2025. Electronic.

Nield, David. "Bonobos Know Something You Don't Know, And Are Willing to Tell For a Price." Science Alert 7 February 2025. Electronic.

Townrow, Luke A. and Krupenye, Christopher. "Bonobos point more for ignorant than knowledgeable social partners." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025): 6. Electronic.

“Transgender Cave Man”? A Debated Case that Changed Archaeological Inquiry

Figure 1: Copper Period burial classified as either a "transgender" or "homosexual" individual

Archaeologists learn about people in the past through their material cultural remains that are left behind.  The nature of archaeological research requires analyzes what is often an incomplete material record, which requires consistent and precise analysis.  Typically, conclusions are not reached unless there is sufficient evidence to support them.  Patterns within the data are one means of reaching a conclusion, but when an anomaly within the data occurs this can lead to serious debate within the archaeological community.  This was definitely the case with a discovery outside of Prague in 2011.

 

In April 2011 a team of archaeologists from the Czech Archaeological Society released a statement.  In their statement they claimed to have discovered evidence of either a “homosexual” or “transgender” burial (Figure 1).  They referenced the discovery of a burial from Corded Ware culture (the 2900 and 2500BC) of the Copper Age.  The burial included one individual who was found with grave goods associated with women.  These included a jug and an egg-shaped vessel.  Previous analyses concluded that these grave goods were domestic goods interred with women. The deceased individual was also facing east, another pattern consistent with Corded Ware female burials. The researchers initially concluded that the burial was that of a woman based on these pieces of evidence.  Upon further analysis of the bones, however, a different conclusion was made.  The bones were that of a male.  Corded Ware period males are typically buried with weapons and tools and buried with their heads facing the west.  Ultimately, the opposition of the osteological conclusion of a male individual coupled with the feminine positioning and grave goods led the scholars to reach their conclusions that this individual must be either “homosexual” or “transgender”.  They entertained the notion that this individual may have been a shaman (as men did occupy that role), but the lack of rich and number of the grave goods with the burial led to a quick rejection of this possibility. They instead cited their previous discovery of a Mesolithic burial of a woman who was found with masculine grave goods as evidence to support their final conclusions about the Copper Age burial.

 

Immediately, the archaeological community entered into a frenzy about the accuracy of these conclusions.  Several dissenters came out, calling into question the precision of the osteological methods used.  Others pointed out that modern gender categories and definitions cannot be applied to other contemporary cultures, let alone past cultures.  Ultimately, the conclusions about this particular burial remain in question, but this particular case led to a greater acknowledgement and study of gender, particularly the concepts related to transgender identity categories, in the past.  So while it remains unclear who this individual was within their society this individual remains an important part of archaeological discourse as the breakthrough in better understanding the past.

 

References

Adams, W.L. "Archaeologists Find ‘Gay Caveman’ Near Prague." Time 7 April 2011. Electronic.

Everhart, A.R. "Bones without Flesh and (Trans)Gender without Bodies: Querying Desires for Trans Historicity." Hypatia (2022): 601 - 618. Print.

Geen, J. "5,000-year-old ‘transgender’ skeleton discovered." Pink News 6 April 2011. Electronic.

Peralta, E. "Researchers Dig Up 'Homosexual Or Transsexual' Caveman Near Prague." NPR 7 April 2011. Electronic.

 

The Fa’afafine of Samoa

Fa'afafine at a pageant (Source: Samoan Fa'afafine Association )

 

Across the globe there are various cultures that exist. Many cultural groups may share similarities, but each is unique.  Among non-Western cultural groups there is a common thread in that gender does not exist in a binary.  There are various gender categories, which is simplified in description as a third gender, which is defined as the existence of three or more gender categories.  Among cultural groups within third genders these individuals who are not male or female (within the Western conceptions of male and female) occupy distinct roles and are celebrated for their gender identity and special roles.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to addressing one such gender category that exists among Samoans: the fa’afafine.

 

The fa’afafine are what Western cultural groups would call transwomen, or men who identify as women.  Not much is known about the history of fa’afafine among Samoans due to Christian missionaries attempts to suppress and erase fa’afafine and other third gender people from Samoan culture.  This means that the history of fa’afafine (and fa’afatama, transgender men) is imprecisely known.  Therefore, what will be presented herein is the modern conceptions of what it means to be fa’afafine.

 

In Samoan culture there are four gender categories: female, male, fa’afafine, and fa’afatama. Fa’afafine and fa’afatama are individuals who occupy the gender roles outside of their born sex.  Some define this occupation as permanent, while others claim this is fluid, meaning individuals can and do move between male and female roles.  A great deal of contemporary study has been completed on fa’afafine, with less on fa’afatama.  Early scholarship promoted various misconceptions about what it means to be fa’afafine, in large part due to Western biases against third gender people.  Some assertions that are no longer accepted include the notion that parents would choose which of their sons would become fa’afafine in order to garner greater status or make up for not having enough daughters.  This is not supported by any evidence.  Boys and young men are recognized as potentially being fa’afafine, but these individuals have to self-identify and transition as they feel comfortable.

 

Today, the fa’afafine occupy special roles within Samoan societies.  They are individuals who are responsible for taking care of the elderly.  They also occupy roles as sex education and sexual health educators.  This is because these are taboo topics that cannot be addressed by men or women, allowing individuals who occupy both or neither role the responsibility of discussing them.  Fa’afafine today are celebrated for who they are and what they do.  They participate in various pageants, similar the Drag Pageants that exist in the Western world, and many times the proceeds from these pageants go toward paying for elderly care.  Additionally, these pageants act as reclamations of a Samoan tradition that had been suppressed by Christian missionaries: the taupou.  Traditionally, the taupou was a ceremonial hostess selected by the village’s high chief, and the taupou not only represented the village but entertained visitors.  This was a prestigious role for the chosen individual that fell out of favor as Christianity spread throughout the Samoans.  The fa’afafine have brought it back as a means of celebrating their gender identities and cultural roots.

 

While the Fa’afafine are celebrated today they were cast out of Samoan society throughout the 1950s into the 1970s.  This led to them being demonized as sexual deviants as they were characterized as sex workers and thieves.  As cultural norms reverted back to strong traditional Samoan values the value of the fa’afafine reverted back to one of celebration and appreciation.  Despite the challenges that the fa’afafine have and continue to face in some places their continued existence speaks to their resilience, as well as the resilience of Samoan culture as a whole. 

 

Works Cited

ABC/Cinemedia. "Fa'afafine - Samoan boys brought up as girls." 2005. Charting the Pacific. https://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/people/hazy.htm. 6 April 2025.

Natural History Museum. "Beyond Gender: Indigenous Perspectives, Fa’afafine and Fa’afatama ." 1 September 2020. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. https://nhm.org/stories/beyond-gender-indigenous-perspectives-faafafine-and-faafatama. 6 April 2025.

Schoeffel, Penelope. "Representing Fa ‘afafine." Gender on the edge: Transgender, gay, and other Pacific Islanders (2014): 73.

Utopia Washington. "60 Years of Fa’afafine History: A Timeline of Herstory Makers & Events surrounding Them in American Samoa." 14 June 2022. Utopia Washington. https://utopiawa.org/60-years-of-faafafine-history-a-timeline-of-herstory-makers-events-surrounding-them-in-american-samoa/. 4 April 2025.

Vasey, Paul L., and Nancy H. Bartlett. "What can the Samoan" Fa'afafine" teach us about the Western concept of gender identity disorder in childhood?." Perspectives in biology and medicine 50.4 (2007): 481-490.