If proper table etiquette is what separates civilized society from the savages, then the boundaries of civilization just got a whole lot wider. For the first time, chimpanzees in Africa's Nimba Mountains have been observed using tools to chop up their food into bite-sized, more manageable portions. Even more interesting: these table manners appear to have been passed from generation to generation.

 

The chimps use stone and wooden cleavers, as well as stone anvils to process Treculia fruits — hard, fibrous volleyball-sized fruits which can weigh up to 8.5 kilograms.

 

But the apes are not simply cracking into the Treculia to get to otherwise unobtainable food, say researchers. Neighboring chimpanzee populations also eat the fruits but don't process their food this way. Rather, these chimps are actively chopping up the food into more manageable portions simply to make the experience of eating it more pleasant and convenient.

 

The discovery was made by primate reserachers Kathelijne Koops, William McGrew and Tetsuro Matsuzawa during a monthly survey of chimps (Pan troglodytes) living in the mountain forests of Guinea. It began when Koops found the cleavers and anvils, left behind by a troop of chimps that had been eating the large fruits.

 

"It's the first time wild chimpanzees have been found to use two distinct types of percussive technology, i.e. movable cleavers versus a non-movable anvil, to achieve the same goal," Koops told the BBC.

 

In other words, the culinary technology is remarkably sophisticated. The chimp chefs utilize stabilizing wedges and multi-part tool kits, and the kitchen skills required to wield the tools are specialized — potentially worthy of TV's Iron Chef. 

 

Just as humans learn table etiquette from parents and elders, the practice among chimps also appears to be culturally learned. The behavior has only been witnessed among a single troop, making these chimps the only culinary clan in the forest.

 

"Chimpanzees across Africa vary greatly in the types of tools they use to obtain food. Some groups use stones as hammers and anvils to crack open nuts, whereas others use twigs to fish for termites," Koops said.

 

Though of course, none of them are quite so civilized as these chimps.