Do Animals Have Culture?

When we think about culture, we typically think about humans — the traditions and customs people have in different parts of the world. We may think about language, or cuisine, or clothing. We may also think about the different rules, values, and habits that are typical of various human groups.

In psychology, culture is often discussed as a fairly unique human capacity, rooted in our ability to learn from others, come up with new innovations, and to pass down our knowledge across historical time (Henrich, 2016). But as Frans de Waal notes, the more we study other species, the less unique we appear to be. “After the apes break down the dam between the humans and the rest of the animal kingdom, the floodgates often open to include species after species.” (De Waal, 2016). Deception, planning for the future, recognizing oneself in a mirror, all of these were once thought to be cognitive capacities that were exclusive to homo sapiens. Yet time and again, species ranging from bonobos to crows have been shown to possess these abilities as well.

Whale Song, Fake Flowers, and Salty Sweet Potatoes

Some of the earliest evidence of animal culture comes from observations of song birds. It turns out that different songs are observed in different regions. Much as humans in different regions speak different languages or dialects, so too do birds (Whiten, 2021a). In a similar vein, whale populations inhabiting different locales also sing different songs (Garland, 2011).

Scientists have also observed evidence that animals may possess culinary cultures as well. One classic example comes from the observation in the 1950s of macaques living on a Japanese island. One macaque began to wash her sweet potatoes in a nearby stream. Over time other members of the group began to copy this behavior and started washing them in the ocean, potentially to add a salty flavor. This novel way of preparing food spread through the group, learned by one generation after the next, and continued for years (Watson, 1979; Whiten, 2021a). Dipping a sweet potato in the ocean before eating it may seem a far cry from smoking brisket or making Szechuan style hotpot, but in fact here too we see evidence of cultural transmission. A new behavior is invented by a member of the group, learned by others, and copied across generations.

And it’s not just mammals that have been shown to have the ability to transmit cultural practices. In a recent study, researchers trained a bee to pull on a string to release nectar from an artificial flower (Alem, et al., 2016). The researchers then had other bees observe this behavior from a distance and found that they readily learned it as well. Providing evidence of observational learning. In another experiment, the researchers taught a number of individual bees this behavior and then returned them to their hives, then had pairs of bees (one who had learned the string-pulling task and one who hadn’t) encounter the artificial flower. Impressively, nearly half of the bees quickly learned from their trained hive mate and began to use the string-pulling technique. The authors concluded that this work was a potent demonstration of cultural transmission among insects.

Further evidence for animal culture comes from research on tool use among capuchin monkeys and crows, as well as observations of arbitrary customs that resemble fashion among chimpanzees (Whiten, 2021b). In the case of chimps, this apparently involves putting a piece of grass in one’s ear. And if we broaden our definition of culture beyond patterns of behavior or concepts that are learned from others, and include cultural patterns that might be environmentally cued or evoked (Sng, et al., 2018) then we see numerous similarities between animal and human groups inhabiting the same environments, including foraging behavior, male investment in offspring, and the extent of social hierarchy (Barsbai, Lukas, & Pondorfer, 2021).

Conclusion

Do animals have culture? A growing body of evidence suggests the answer is yes. Humans in different parts of the world speak different languages, cook food differently, and use different tools to accomplish tasks. So too, it seems, do many of our relatives in the animal kingdom, from chimpanzees to bumblebees.