As Jackson explains, recent research has found that groups of chimpanzees have their own unique drumming rhythms, an expression of their sophisticated mode of communication. The study was headed by Vesta Eleuteri from the University of Vienna, Austria. She compared 371 drumming bouts from 11 chimpanzee communities. The research was reported in the journal Current Biology. They provide a wealth of information on the social dynamics of these enigmatic primates.
The research team included very high-profile members. Senior authors Catherine Hobaiter of the University of St. Andrews in the UK and Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University in Rome were instrumental to the study. As a team, they studied six different populations of chimpanzees, two of which were subspecies. This detailed analysis shows that chimpanzees accurately time their drum beats with each other. This finding indicates they are far more rhythmically organized than we had previously been aware.
The study’s findings underscore the multifunctional nature of rhythmic patterns. …they can reinforce social ties, or they can assert a territorial claim. The research team observed drumming bouts in 15 different communities. From all this rich data, they found changes in rhythm that showcase cultural rhythmic characteristics specific to each group.
With careful observation and record keeping, the researchers were able to reach important conclusions regarding the value of rhythm in chimpanzee interactions. This research, recently published in Current Biology, is an important breakthrough in understanding primate behavior. Most importantly, it provides an entirely new way of looking at how non-human species use language.
You can read the published research at the DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019. We invite you to read more on Phys.org, where this story was first published on May 9, 2025.