title: Etho-archaeology of manual laterality: well digging by wild chimpanzees.
abstract: We present the first indirect test of manually lateralized behaviour in non-human primates, based on wells dug for drinking water by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Apes at Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve, in Uganda, dig bimanually in sandy riverbeds, leaving behind paired piles of excavated sand. The volumes of left- versus right-side piles do not differ, suggesting a lack of behavioural laterality, but this needs to be verified by further, direct observational data.
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. wcm21@cam.ac.uk <wcm21@cam.ac.uk>
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: McGrew
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Marchant
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Hunt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005618:Fresh Water; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000502:physiology*