AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Between 1952 and 1958, almost all the young monkeys had learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes. Only the adults who imitated, their children learned this social improvement. Other adults continued to eat dirty sweet potatoes. Then a startling phenomenon was observed.

Detailed explanation-2: -The following year scientists discovered that a young monkey called “Imo” was washing sand off the potato by dipping it into the water; This could have been for many reasons, either they didn’t like the taste of sand, the potatoes tasted better with salt on them, or it just looked more appetizing.

Detailed explanation-3: -One of the first reports of animal culture came from the island of Koshima, where a group of Japanese macaques washed sweet potatoes that were provisioned to them (Figure 1). This behavior originated with one female, Imo, and, within 10 years, most others in her group were also washing their potatoes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) display a number of cultural behaviours including food washing, stone handling and certain grooming techniques. These are deemed cultural behaviours because it is presumed that they are socially learned and, importantly, that social learning is essential for their emergence.

Detailed explanation-5: -They began leaving food on the sandy beaches for the monkeys to draw them out of the forest in an attempt to study behavior. Some of these prizes were sweet potatoes. The macaques would wipe the sand off the potatoes and eat them readily.