In the Shadow of Man

Throughout her work, Goodall uses her extensive observations to emphasize chimps’ genetic and behavioral similarities with humans. She reports that, “biologically, in the number and form of chromosomes, blood proteins, immune responses, DNA or genetic material, and so on—chimpanzees are extremely close to humans […] we share, with chimpanzees, 99% of our genetic material (256). One major consequence of this shared DNA is our similar brain structure. Goodall ponders how this genetic relationship may influence the behavioral similarities between our species. Comparing chimp offspring to human kids, she writes, “Like human children, chimpanzee children are dependent on their mothers for several years” (150). Goodall observes that these parallels continue as chimps develop, writing of juvenile chimps, “Many of their games are like those played by human children. The tickling movements of a chimpanzee’s fingers during play are probably identical to human tickling” (247).

The author often notes that chimp body language, too, mirrors humans’ body language in many ways. To help illustrate chimp-human similarities, Goodall offers a detailed breakdown of chimp-type gestures that are also present in human societies, such as kissing, hand clasping, patting, and embracing. Goodall argues that our similarities in body language are likely not a coincidence but the legacy of our shared primate ancestor. She explains that “if we survey the whole range of postural and gestural communication signals of chimpanzees on the one hand and humans on the other, we find striking similarities in many instances” that may derive from “an ancestor in the dim and very distant past; an ancestor, moreover, who communicated with his kind by means of kissing and embracing, touching and patting and holding hands” (248).

Additionally, Goodall points to tool use and tool making as a similarity between people and chimps, using examples from both Gombe and research on captive chimps to support her point. While she acknowledges that chimps have a limited ability to make tools, she emphasizes their capacity to “use objects for many different purposes” and to “use objects as tools quite spontaneously,” which was once considered an exclusively human quality (240).

Throughout the book, Goodall makes casual comparisons to humans as she describes chimp behaviors. Describing Pooch’s revenge on the violent Evered, she writes that her smile “looked exactly like the smirk a young human girl might be expected to give under similar circumstances” (129). When describing Flint’s demanding personality, she writes, “And as the weeks went by Flint, like a spoiled human child, wanted more and more attention” (108). Goodall’s uses these frequent comparisons, which she supports through anecdotes and scientific data, to argue for recognition of the genetic and behavioral similarities humans share with chimps and spur interest in a shared primate ancestor.