サル類の道具使用と文化的行動の伝播

抄録

Recent studies on the mechanism of social transmission in animals (Galef 1988, Whiten & Ham 1992) revealed various types of observational learning, particularly local/stimulus enhancement. This type which includes both “the acquirement of partial information from other individuals” and “trial and error” suggests that the primitive forms of social learning can be regarded as simple extensions of individual learning. From this viewpoint, I investigated two instances of social transmission in free-ranging Japanese macaques: tool-using (stone-throwing) and louse-egg-handling techniques during grooming. In the latter, the distribution of these techniques suggests social transmission based on maternal kin and the social system of dominance -the tendency of subordinates to groom more often than to be groomed- may result in oblique transmission of various techniques from low-ranking monkeys to some offspring of high-ranking females.