Chimpanzees' rhythmic drumming sheds light on music's roots

They might not produce Gershwin hits, but chimpanzees have got rhythm, researchers have found, in a study they say sheds light on the evolutionary origins of music.

- Nicola Davis

Scientists had previously found chimpanzees drummed on the buttress roots of trees to send information to each other, with individuals having their own signature style. However, it remained unclear whether they drummed rhythmically.

Now researchers say they have not only found chimpanzees drum with non-random timing but that the rhythms differ between subspecies.

The team say the revelations shed light on the evolutionary origins of a feature at the heart of human social behaviour.

"[The findings] are a strong suggestion that those building blocks [of rhythm] we have then used in all of our social behaviour and all of our music were present way back in our last common ancestor," said Prof Catherine Hobaiter, a senior author of the work from St Andrews University.