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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates
16:00

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

Published on: November 11, 2011

22.9K

Precision grips in young chimpanzees.

L E Jones-Engel1, K A Bard2

  • 1Department of Anthropology, New York University, Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates, New York University Medical Center, Tuxedo, New York.

American Journal of Primatology
|January 11, 2020
PubMed
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Young chimpanzees demonstrate a true precision grip, utilizing thumb-finger opposition, particularly for small food objects. This challenges previous assumptions about primate dexterity and hand use in object manipulation.

Area of Science:

  • Primate behavior
  • Comparative anatomy
  • Evolution of human traits

Background:

  • The precision grip, characterized by thumb-finger opposition, is often considered a uniquely human trait.
  • Previous research suggested chimpanzees lacked this ability, based on limited observations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate grip types and hand use in young chimpanzees when grasping objects of varying sizes.
  • To challenge the notion that precision grip is exclusively human.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of 13 laboratory-raised chimpanzees (8 males, 5 females; 27-58 months old).
  • Development of an ethogram detailing 43 grip types, including precision grips, power grips, and thumb-to-finger opposition.
  • Analysis of object prehension efficiency (latency) across different object sizes and grip types.
Keywords:
chimpanzeedexteritylateralityprecision gripprehension

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Last Updated: Dec 31, 2025

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Main Results:

  • Chimpanzees frequently used precision and imprecise grips for small and very small food objects.
  • Precision grips were equally efficient across all object sizes.
  • Power grips were most efficient for the largest object (a grape).
  • Hand efficiency varied: left hand favored for imprecise grips on small objects, right hand for power grips on medium objects.
  • Individual handedness was observed, though no population-level handedness was evident.

Conclusions:

  • Young chimpanzees exhibit a true precision grip, especially for small objects.
  • This finding refutes the idea that precision grip is exclusively human.
  • Chimpanzee hand use is adaptable, with specific grips optimized for different object sizes and tasks.