A Twist In Discussions Of Chimpanzee Spirituality
Are they — or aren't they — spiritual beings? The question is back in the news, as the author of a study discusses findings and possibilities with anthropologist Barbara J. King.
Are chimpanzees spiritual?
It's a question that Jane Goodall made famous by proposing that the rhythmic swaying and rock-throwing by chimpanzees at waterfalls in Gombe, Tanzania, is an expression of awe and wonder — of spirituality.
It's a question, too, that takes on new twists and turns as new data come in. In 2016, a group of 80 scientists reported in Scientific Reports that chimpanzees at four sites across West Africa cache stones and throw them repeatedly at trees. One of those scientists, Laura Kehoe, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Baum Lab at the University of Victoria, earned global media headlines for a passage she included when writing a post at :
