Isabel Behncke: Evolution's gift of play, from bonobo apes to humans

82,553 views ・ 2011-03-22

TED


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00:15
I just came back from a community
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that holds the secret to human survival.
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It's a place where women run the show,
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have sex to say hello,
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and play rules the day --
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where fun is serious business.
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And no, this isn't Burning Man
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or San Francisco.
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00:35
(Laughter)
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00:37
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your cousins.
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This is the world of wild bonobos
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in the jungles of Congo.
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Bonobos are, together with chimpanzees,
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your living closest relative.
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That means we all share a common ancestor,
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an evolutionary grandmother,
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who lived around six million years ago.
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Now, chimpanzees are well-known
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for their aggression.
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(Laughter)
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But unfortunately,
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we have made too much of an emphasis
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of this aspect
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in our narratives of human evolution.
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But bonobos show us
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the other side of the coin.
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While chimpanzees
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are dominated by big, scary guys,
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bonobo society
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is run by empowered females.
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These guys have really worked something out,
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since this leads to a highly tolerant society
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where fatal violence
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has not been observed yet.
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But unfortunately,
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bonobos are the least understood
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of the great apes.
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They live in the depths of the Congolese jungle,
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and it has been very difficult to study them.
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The Congo is a paradox --
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a land of extraordinary biodiversity and beauty,
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but also the heart of darkness itself --
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the scene of a violent conflict
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that has raged for decades
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and claimed nearly as many lives
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as the First World War.
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Not surprisingly,
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this destruction also endangers bonobo survival.
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Bushmeat trades and forest loss
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means we couldn't fill a small stadium
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with all the bonobos that are left in the world --
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and we're not even sure of that to be honest.
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Yet, in this land of violence and chaos,
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you can hear hidden laughter
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swaying the trees.
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02:43
Who are these cousins?
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We know them as the "make love, not war" apes
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since they have frequent, promiscuous
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and bisexual sex
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to manage conflict
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and solve social issues.
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Now, I'm not saying this is the solution
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to all of humanity's problems --
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since there's more to bonobo life
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than the Kama Sutra.
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Bonobos, like humans,
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love to play throughout their entire lives.
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Play is not just child's games.
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For us and them,
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play is foundational for bonding relationships
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and fostering tolerance.
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It's where we learn to trust
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and where we learn about the rules of the game.
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Play increases creativity
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and resilience,
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and it's all about the generation of diversity --
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diversity of interactions,
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diversity of behaviors,
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diversity of connections.
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03:41
And when you watch bonobo play,
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you're seeing the very evolutionary roots
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of human laughter, dance
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and ritual.
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Play is the glue
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that binds us together.
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Now, I don't know how you play,
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but I want to show you a couple of unique clips
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fresh from the wild.
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04:01
First, it's a ball game bonobo-style --
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and I do not mean football.
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So here,
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we have a young female and a male
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engaged in a chase game.
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Have a look what she's doing.
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It might be the evolutionary origin of the phrase,
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"she's got him by the balls."
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04:20
(Laughter)
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04:23
Only I think that he's rather loving it here, right?
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04:27
Yeah.
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04:29
(Laughter)
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04:31
So sex play is common
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in both bonobos and humans.
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04:35
And this video is really interesting
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because it shows --
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this video's really interesting
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because it shows the inventiveness
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of bringing unusual elements into play --
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such as testicles --
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and also how play both requires trust
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and fosters trust --
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while at the same time being tremendous fun.
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04:57
But play's a shapeshifter.
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04:59
(Laughter)
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05:02
Play's a shapeshifter,
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and it can take many forms,
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some of which are more quiet,
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imaginative, curious --
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maybe where wonder is discovered anew.
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05:13
And I want you to see,
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05:15
this is Fuku, a young female,
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05:17
and she is quietly playing with water.
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05:19
I think, like her,
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05:21
we sometimes play alone,
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05:23
and we explore the boundaries
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of our inner and our outer worlds.
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05:28
And it's that playful curiosity
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that drives us to explore, drives us to interact,
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and then the unexpected connections we form
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are the real hotbed for creativity.
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05:41
So these are just small tasters
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05:44
into the insights that bonobo give us
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to our past and present.
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05:49
But they also hold a secret for our future,
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a future where we need to adapt
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to an increasingly challenging world
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through greater creativity
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and greater cooperation.
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06:01
The secret is that play is the key
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to these capacities.
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06:06
In other words,
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play is our adaptive wildcard.
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06:10
In order to adapt successfully
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to a changing world,
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we need to play.
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06:18
But will we make the most of our playfulness?
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06:21
Play is not frivolous.
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Play's essential.
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For bonobos and humans alike,
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life is not just red in tooth and claw.
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In times when it seems least appropriate to play,
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it might be the times when it is most urgent.
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And so, my fellow primates,
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let us embrace this gift from evolution
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and play together,
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as we rediscover creativity,
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fellowship and wonder.
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06:51
Thank you.
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06:53
(Applause)
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