BEATRIZ ZANFORLIN

I read today that chimps live in what’s called a fission-fusion society. They gather in large groups (fusion) but spend the day foraging in smaller, shifting sub-groups. This system must bring significant evolutionary benefits, since it comes at high costs: we generally work more efficiently with the same partners every day rather than in shifting groups (fission).

The advantage could be flexibility. Sub-groups can change depending on conditions – number of infants, food location, climate, whatever influences chimp foraging success. Everything that is rigid is fragile. While daily interactions within small groups may be less efficient, the society as a whole becomes more resilient.

Such a system should require strong communication skills to coordinate with peers you don’t know well. Wondering whether this may have played a role in the evolution of our language, I found something else interesting: it might explain gossiping.

Human hunter-gatherer societies sometimes follow a similar fission-fusion pattern, and gossip may have helped people learn about others in the larger group, making it easier to decide whom to spend time with the next day. 💡


Jane Goodall, rest in peace.