Wild chimpanzees have long been observed drumming their limbs against the massive roots of towering rainforest trees, producing deep, echoing booms. While this behavior has been previously understood as a method of communication, new research has uncovered an additional layer: chimpanzees drum in regular, rhythmic patterns—an essential trait found in human music.
In a study published in Current Biology on Friday, researchers have demonstrated that chimpanzees not only drum with unique individual styles but also follow structured, non-random rhythms. This finding suggests that the roots of human musicality may lie in our last common ancestor shared with chimpanzees.
“They’re actually drumming often with their feet,” explains Catherine Hobaiter, co-author of the study and a primatologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, during an interview with NPR’s Jon Hamilton. “They’re using their hands to grip the roots, then kind of dancing. Sometimes they jump between the roots to vary the beat, and even throw in a hand for syncopation.”
The team, which includes Hobaiter and colleagues, examined 371 drumming sequences from eastern and western chimpanzees across 11 communities in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. According to Hobaiter in an interview with The Guardian’s Nicola Davis, the rhythmic drumming demonstrated a clear “predictability,” which strongly indicates the presence of rhythm.
Although earlier studies had shown that captive chimpanzees could drum rhythmically, this study is the first to confirm rhythmic drumming in wild chimpanzees, according to Valérie Dufour, an animal cognition biologist at the University of Clermont Auvergne in France, who was not involved in the research. Speaking to Science’s Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Dufour emphasized the significance of observing such behavior in natural settings.
“Showing that chimpanzees share some of the fundamental properties of human musical rhythm in their drumming is a really exciting step in understanding when and how we evolved this skill,” Hobaiter states. “Our findings suggest that our ability to drum rhythmically may have existed long before we were human.”
Interestingly, the researchers discovered notable differences in the rhythmic patterns between the two chimpanzee subspecies. Western chimpanzees drummed at more regular intervals, while eastern chimpanzees varied their beats with alternating fast and slow rhythms. Additionally, the ways in which drumming was combined with vocalizations—specifically the “pant-hoot” calls—differed between the groups. Western chimps drummed more frequently and with greater speed, integrating drumming into vocalizations earlier than their eastern counterparts.
Researchers propose that these rhythmic differences may reflect distinct social behaviors between the subspecies. Eastern chimpanzees typically live in larger, more hierarchical, and aggressive groups, while western chimpanzees tend to form more egalitarian societies. These behavioral variations could explain the contrast in drumming styles and may even mirror differences in human linguistic expression, reports National Geographic’s Olivia Ferrari.
“This is the kind of science that wakes us up to the fact that every single population of chimpanzees is worth conserving and preserving,” Hobaiter tells National Geographic. “We’re beginning to recognize that they might have cultures embedded in their communication styles, their rhythms, and their social behaviors. If you lose a group, you lose a unique culture with it.”
Two other recent studies are also contributing to this evolving understanding of chimpanzee behavior. A paper published on May 7 in Biology Letters found that western chimpanzees often throw rocks against tree trunks—using previously gathered stones—as a means of communication. Another study published on May 9 in Science Advances revealed that chimpanzees convey complex meanings by combining different vocalizations.
These findings, alongside earlier research on a headbanging sea lion capable of keeping a beat and linguistic patterns discovered in whale songs, challenge the long-standing notion that rhythm and complex communication are uniquely human traits.
“Humans are intrinsically rhythmic creatures,” Hobaiter tells BBC Science Focus’s Hatty Willmoth. “We find rhythm in music, in dance, in songs, and even in everyday conversation. It’s a universal human trait, and it might well be a deep-rooted part of our evolutionary heritage.”
The research on chimpanzee drumming doesn’t just bridge the gap between animal communication and human music—it reinforces the importance of preserving chimp populations, each with potentially unique cultures and behaviors. As more is revealed about our closest relatives, we come to understand that human-like qualities such as rhythm, communication, and culture may not be solely human after all.
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