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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Culture of Neurospheres Derived from the Neurogenic Niches in Adult Prairie Voles
Published on: June 10, 2020
Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture
Carel P van Schaik1, Marc Ancrenaz, Gwendolyn Borgen
1Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, Post Office Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708, USA. vschaik@duke.edu
Abstract:
Geographic variation in some aspects of chimpanzee behavior has been interpreted as evidence for culture. Here we document similar geographic variation in orangutan behaviors. Moreover, as expected under a cultural interpretation, we find a correlation between geographic distance and cultural difference, a correlation between the abundance of opportunities for social learning and the size of the local cultural repertoire, and no effect of habitat on the content of culture. Hence, great-ape cultures exist, and may have done so for at least 14 million years.
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