Introduction
Genetically speaking, humans are 97% similar to chimpanzees. The genetic makeup explains the reason why chimpanzees commonly associated with humans in terms of evolution dimensions. The division between the two species happened gradually, over 12 million years ago. Even though the genetic composition is almost a match, physically, the two species are very different from each other. This begs the underlying reason why the sharp contrast. Past researchers suggested that there might be a contrast in the interaction of genes. Some scientists state that the manner in which human genes works widely varies from the chimpanzee relatives. Furthermore, the common genes between the two species such as the brain, where genes interlock and operate in dependence to one another, in chimpanzees the brains cells are uncoordinated. However, this paper will compare and contrast the varying physical, emotional, and even emotional differences between chimpanzees and humans.
Physical differences
Chimpanzees without a doubt demonstrate and form ideas correlating with statistical uniformities in behavior. However, the status of their mind seems more human than that of an ordinary monkey (Jurmain, 2017). Thus, there are only two possibilities; the mind of a chimpanzee reveals numerous phenomena about them, which then reflects on the condition of the human mind. First of all, the mind of a chimpanzee seems similar to human mind, either because it is or just a biological assumption superimposed due to other resemblances. Some Anthropologists claim that humans and chimpanzees came from the same ancestors an estimated six million years ago. Consequently awaking a series of assumptions and biological meanness. Besides, the two species are dissimilar from each other but this fact does not dispute their common ancestral background. Secondly, the human mind evolved in a unique way, giving rise to a complex mental system. Hence, human gained an advantage over the chimpanzees in terms of cognitive ability, creating a society and increasing their survival chances via reproduction.
It is vital to take note of the human lineages, over the years experienced drastic evolution since diverting from their parent ancestry (Jurmain, 2017). From the head to the toes, the human physical form is full of evolutionary evidence of the alterations that took place during the evolutionary processes. For examples dwarf modifications occurred along both chimpanzee and human lineages. Humans beings have a re-sculptured the pelvis bone to accommodate two way motions and induce other muscles for movement. In the process of forming a grip, humans lost one finger. The human mind is three times the size of a chimpanzee hence explaining the ability to send complex messages via communication.
To gain insight and appreciate the role evolution played in differentiating chimpanzees and human features, behavior is an essential element (Jurmain, 2017). To begin with, chimpanzees like their counter part humans generate behavior from observations of other chimpanzees. For example, when a chimpanzee rubs their limps together or bristle their hair, the interpretation of the actions varies from one chimp to another. Therefore, if one can isolate and find the meaning of underlying reasons for the behaviors, they will unveil how the chimpanzee brain work and the manner in which it differs from that of a human being.
It is an indisputable fact that humans evolved over time and acquired specified abilities and social understanding, in the process, facilitating cultural astuteness. As stated earlier, the human brain is three times larger than that of a chimpanzee indicating a higher intellectual ability and complex reasoning (Jurmain, 2017). From an evolutionary approach, past researches revealed the need to analyze the ability of humans to execute complex reasoning using their neurons located in the brain. Furthermore, under the general intelligence hypothesis, a large brain facilitates carrying out various types of tasks due to rational operations. The humans do not just perform these tasks, but they execute them, perfectly unlike chimpanzees. Enhanced memory, faster acquisition of information, a higher rate of information interpretation and strong coordination and control of their bodies are some of the characteristic features of a human species. With that said and done, cognitive abilities evolve over time in relation to the surrounding environment in which a person lives. In context of the glaring differences between chimpanzees and humans, some anthropologists revealed that distinctive elements among chimpanzee cognition developed or evolved in reaction to the challenging strains of hunting for seasonal foods and other limited valuable resources (Boesch, 2012). On the other hand, other researchers argue along the lines of a challenging communal life characterized by cut throating competition and coordination with other chimpanzees from other ecosystems facilitated development of their brain. Simply put, chimpanzees’ evolution did not simulate or invoke the cognitive part of the brain. On the other hand, humans’ evolution did not just center on survival and social functions alone but rather on ultra-social complexities stimulating the cognitive part into full functionality. Social interactions and cooperation to achieve a greater deal of cognitive capabilities as opposed to the chimpanzees make the human stand taller than other primates inclusive of chimpanzees.
Averaging all the physical observations made throughout history, there is a 68% chance that a chimpanzee can perform a meaningful activity assigned to a human being. From a statistic point of view, humans and chimpanzees rarely differ from each other. But human are more skillful in the manner in which they execute their duties. In the social sector, human child and chimpanzee can outcompete each other in various tasks. For example, children can outperform chimpanzees in spatial activities whereas chimpanzees do much better in transfer position activities (Boesch, 2012). To emphasize further, in terms of quantity activities, both human and chimpanzees can identify or differentiate a large bag from a small one. In fact, chimpanzees can correctly evaluate a larger item from a small one and even combine two quantities in order to recognize the weightier quantity. In context of causality activities, a human child performs better than a chimpanzee. A causality exercise requires settling on a decision before a judgement.
Culture in Chimpanzees in comparison to Human beings
There are three basic classes under cultural categories and each embedded in a sequel of other social factors. The first is alteration in traditions that occurred over time. Culture is a pivotal tool in the assessment of theories in the community level, shared between two or more people. The characteristics, behavior traditions associated with the chimpanzees are almost uniform to humans. In living organisms considered nonhuman, only orangutan apes come close to Human culture after Chimpanzees. From modes of communication to behavior variety, orangutans are clever beings. (Just passionately curious, 2017). In short, chimpanzees have rich traditions traced to their evolutionary process that facilitated attaining complex thinking capacity.
Chimpanzees do not just exhibit a variety of customs, but each chimpanzee community is distinct in terms of culture set up by a guideline of traditions. Therefore, one can categorize chimpanzees based on their behavior and culture. Wherever chimpanzee cultures arise, each has differing features from the other (Just passionately curious, 2017). More so, a chimpanzee culture initiated by traditions gives a learner or observer, the ability to know their social skills. Importantly, when two chimpanzees from various community meet, another culture emerges from the social interaction. Thus, chimpanzees have the ability to communicate with each other and present new phenomena among themselves, which indicates their brilliant cognitive ability.
Chimpanzees can easily adopt to other chimpanzees’ culture niches at faster rates than other primates can. Therefore, social interaction among chimpanzees gives people an opportunity to examine their behavior in relation to human beings (Tomasello, 2009). It is vital to note that formation of culture is a feature unique to humans alone but chimpanzees proved to show al the characteristics associated with human beings and that is diverse behavior and creation of various cultures. Humans, chimpanzees, and other animals obtain their behavior from daily encounters, personal training, imitation, and genetics. As a source and conveyer of information, genetic programming enables transfer of behavior from one chimpanzee to another whenever reproduction occurs.
Differences In Terms Of Stance
Human structure is bipedal; most of the apes stand and walk upright. Huge apes walk on all fours. It is an obvious observation. Anthropologists suggest that human parents stood upright to reach fruits on trees. When Africa started drying, over 6.5million years ago, human ancestors occupied the eastern part of Africa, today’s Sahara desert (Tomasello, 2009). Thus, human ancestors learnt how to stand up while chimpanzees living in forests did not acquire the skill. Charles Darwin was the first man to note the importance of standing upright as a vital component differentiating man from ape. Once man gained an upright posture, the hands were free to carry equipment. Utilization of hands occurred an estimated 1.5 million years ago after the human became bipedal. Furthermore, bipedal gave human an advantage over the rest of the primates. Humans could easily hunt food and device ways of surviving harsh environment. Over the years human concurred their environment and learnt how make homes, farming and interpreting immediate contexts. In summary, bipedal gave humans the ability to hunt food effectively, increasing their survival chances, which in turn helped in the learning skills such as construction, shaping stones, and eating in an upright posture.
Strengths between Humans and Chimpanzees
From the neck down ward, a chimpanzee looks like a human being. This because the musculature of the two are almost the same if not similar. However, the chimpanzees are stronger than humans are. Even if humans exercised 12 hours a day like the chimpanzees, they would not outdo the chimpanzees (Tomasello, 2009). Hence, the strength component gives the two species a definite in-depth look of the surroundings inhabited over the years. For example, a chimpanzee can easily break a strong branch from a tree without any effort. A human will need both hands to break a branch of the same chunkiness. There is little to no research that shows the source of chimpanzees’ strength. Nevertheless, their muscles have unique arrangement that permit muscle strength of huge magnitudes. In addition, their muscles composition is denser assisting in physiochemical processes, which release immense energy once they perform an activity. Hence, a chimpanzee can easily fights off an adult man.
Theory of Mind in Determining Similarities and Differences between Chimpanzees and Human Beings
The theory of mind focuses on the manner in which beliefs, wants, or needs, underlying motives influence behavior of individuals. In addition, theory of mind can predict behavior in the near future (Tomasello, 2009). Simply put, the concepts behind the theory helps one gain insight into another individual’s values, knowledge, and motives. Then, one can apply the principle and motives of people into social circumstances enabling the interpretation of behaviors.
Humans are not unique but differ from chimpanzees to some extent. Humans are primates. Both chimpanzees and humans are mammals with sophisticated social interactions. They are capable of using tools to complete tasks and construct shelters to protect them from harm. Scientific evidence reveals that evolutionary process under the genus Homo changed thinking capacity increasing the control of both the chimpanzees and human over their own surrounding leading to the creation of a human niche. (Tomasello, 2009). A niche is a biome of a living creature, which helps, an organism forage resources, reproduce and survive from the ever-changing environment. Processes associated with niche are fire for keeping the niche warm, methods of acquiring information and rearing new offspring. In the end, niches stabilize the surrounding atmosphere, giving the inhabitants a greater chance of survival.
Besides logical or rational thinking, humans can easily assimilate spatially, isolate information from each other. In nonhuman creatures such as chimpanzees, mental researches reveal that they can only process basic characteristics. In addition, such animals ignore very basic shapes under scrutiny, which makes their mental capabilities appear weaker. Human bodies are hairless and their brains work in quick successions. Beyond the physically and observable differences between chimpanzees and human beings, researchers cannot ignore the human like characteristics shared (Tomasello, 2009). For instance, at the Leipzig zoo, a chimp could shakes its head from side to side, as an indicator of refusal and nodding the head up and down showing a yes. While researchers cannot say with certainty that the movement of the head is sufficient enough to ascertain the gesture implies no, it is good enough to reveal the similarities they have with human beings. In short, chimpanzees’ mode of communication is uniform to that of humans. For example, they plead for food with an exposed hand raised in the air just like street beggars. They have an aggressive nature not different from human hostility. Chimpanzees, hug, cry, and laugh together. These activities appear human when observed from a far.
An investigation conducted in 2007, aimed at assessing chimpanzees via a specimen known as bonobos. Bonobos unveiled the adaptability and flexibility between hand and feet gestures. However, when it came to facial expressions chimpanzees are slow and rarely use their facial features to display any gestures (Tomasello, 2009). A chimpanzee in the 2007 study demonstrated the capability to wave hands coupled with clenching of teeth but the face remained emotionless, all in an effort to get food. The research later published in national science archives claimed that human beings depended on sign language before fully undergoing all the evolutionary phases into intelligent beings. More so, it makes sense when chimpanzees exhibit similar gestures as human beings.
The most common characteristic of a human is a hearty laughter. Chimpanzees can laugh when delighted. The laughter has a low volume unlike human laughter. However, the giggles, shifting of body language and sounds produced are similar to humans. People familiar with vocalization that accompany a hearty laughter can even join in and share the moment with chimpanzees. (Perry et.al, 2008). On the contrast side, humans can honk and scream during a laugh session although chimpanzees can also scream while laughing; they can exhale rapidly, uncommon in human laughter. In the year 2007, researchers evaluated and documented sounds of a chimpanzee and compared the laughers to human beings. They also assessed the manner in which the laughers fit into the evolutionary processes of other beings in terms of genetics. In the end, chimpanzees had a similar fit with human being. The perfect match came about due to the evolutionary processes and similar ancestral parents consequently laying a foundation for similar characteristics and laughter.
A group of scientists revealed that the ability of chimpanzees to rotate facial features, that is the mouth and ears at a 180 degrees Celsius is subtle and unique to them alone. A human being is able to notice such features due to their high rate of processing of information. When a chimpanzee inverts itself, it is not easy interpreting the facial expressions of the primate; they seem lost to the human ear (Perry et.al, 2008). On the other hand, paying close attention to right side of the face revealed a more detailed nature of chimpanzees because the right side has all features. The chimpanzees’ genome differs from the human genome. It seems as if the human lineage underwent some mutations leading to the variance in the genome make up. To further illustrate the difference, the genome of the chimpanzee is 1.23% shorter than the human one in terms of nucleotide length.
Emotional differences and similarities between a chimpanzee and a human being
The state of the mind of a chimpanzee is intelligent and complex just like the human brain. In the world of a chimpanzee, their brain is useful and helpful in carrying out tasks around their small world. For example, chimpanzees can imitate the young children, pointing to their ability to adopt to new environments, survive, and reproduce (Perry et.al, 2008). There might be differences in cognitive capabilities but emotionally, they can learn to control and reflect emotions just like any human being on earth. In other words, a chimpanzee has the ability to form thoughts and act on them via its emotions and desires. Then, it is an independent being able to shape its own future and control the immediate environment.
The acquisition of information reveals a grip or the mental power of a chimpanzee. Just like any other human being who can do anything to survive a harsh and unforgiving environment, a chimpanzee can solve problems in their daily lives for the sake of survival.
In summary, humans and chimpanzees have similar and different characteristics. Human are bipedal organisms and have free hands, which can handle tools. Chimpanzees can as well use tools and communicate via simple gesturers and sounds. Tool making is an imitated skill and chimpanzees utilize tools distinctly from each other proving that the behavior relies on learning from other members of the society. Humans have total control over the surrounding while chimpanzees have cultures that differ from one another.
References
Boesch, C. (2012). Wild cultures: a comparison between chimpanzee and human cultures. Cambridge University Press.
Jurmain, R., Kilgore, L., Trevathan, W., Bartelink, E., & Ciochon, R. L. (2017). Introduction to physical anthropology. Nelson Education.
Just passionately Curious. (2017). Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees (1965) - Wildlife Documentary - A National Geographic Film. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA4QLH_Llv0
Perry, G. H., Yang, F., Marques-Bonet, T., Murphy, C., Fitzgerald, T., Lee, A. S., ... & Eichler, E. E. (2008). Copy number variation and evolution in humans and chimpanzees. Genome research.
Tomasello, M. (2009). The cultural origins of human cognition. Harvard university press.
