Grantee Spotlight: Evan Cunningham
Evan Cunningham is a PhD candidate at Emory University who studies wild capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica. His research focuses the hormonal mechanisms behind social behaviors and learning.
Can chimpanzees teach themselves to use tools?
Primatologist Tobias Deschner is exploring whether wild chimpanzees can invent nut-cracking behavior on their own or if it must be learned from others.
Survival of the Friendliest
What if the secret to “survival of the fittest” isn't strength, smarts, or power but rather the ability to connect and cooperate? Join evolutionary anthropologist and bestselling author Dr. Brian Hare and discover how cooperation and sociability have shaped the success of species like dogs, bonobos, and especially us humans.
Punishing Selfish Behavior May Be a Universal Human Response
New research by Leakey Foundation Scientific Executive Committee Member Joan Silk suggests that humans willingly incur costs to punish selfishness in others, and our societies are likely more cooperative as a result.
Monkeys Smashing Nuts Hint at How Human Tool Use Evolved
Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites. Her observations called into question homo sapiens‘ very place in the world. Since then scientists’ knowledge of animal tool use has expanded exponentially.