Claudio Tennie

Abstract The study of great ape cognition offers insights into the evolutionary origins of human intelligence, but is hindered by small sample sizes and restricted access to data. To address this, we present the EVApeCognition Dataset, a publicly available resource comprising 262 experimental datasets from 150 scientific publications from the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center (2004–2021) in Leipzig, Germany.

5. Conclusion: recommendations moving forward This paper has dealt specifically with ape culture, but as mentioned in the beginning, many of the critiques and concerns will apply to a broader range of research topics (e.g. cooperation) that have similar polarised debates and maybe even to other target species and genera.

Abstract Humans accumulate extensive repertoires of culturally transmitted information, reaching breadths exceeding any individual’s innovation capacity (culturally dependent repertoires). It is unclear whether other animals require social learning to acquire adult-like breadths of information in the wild, including by key developmental milestones, or whether animals are capable of constructing their knowledge repertoires primarily through independent exploration.