{"id":1554,"date":"2026-03-04T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owspakistan.com\/?p=1554"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:10:21","slug":"our-love-of-crystals-goes-back-at-least-6-million-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owspakistan.com\/?p=1554","title":{"rendered":"Our love of crystals goes back at least 6 million years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Primates of all stripes really love their crystals. Archeologists<\/a> have found the shiny rocks at dig sites<\/a> dating back as long as 780,000 years ago. Although, we are still not sure if our ancestors used them as tools, weapons, or jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To learn more, a team of scientists in Spain turned to one of our closest primate ancestors\u2014chimpanzees<\/a>. Their experiments revealed that chimps raised alongside humans can tell the difference between crystals and other stones. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Frontiers in Psychology<\/em><\/a>, and could reveal more about our own fascination with these shiny symmetrical stones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were pleasantly surprised by how strong and seemingly natural the chimpanzees\u2019 attraction to crystals was,\u201d Juan Manuel Garc\u00eda-Ruiz<\/a>, a study co-author and crystallographer at Donostia International Physics Center, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThis suggests that sensitivity to such objects may have deep evolutionary roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crystal vs. rock<\/h2>\n

Our species derived from chimpanzees between six and seven million years ago. However, we still share a lot of DNA\u2014about 98.8 percent<\/a>\u2014and behavioral similarities. To see if a fascination with crystals is one of these shared pastimes, the researchers studied two groups of enculturated chimpanzees, or apes that are raised in environments that are enriched by humans. Manuela, Guillermo, Yvan, Yaki, and Toti were in group one, while Gombe, Lul\u00fa, Pascual, and Sandy in group two. Both groups were given access to crystals.<\/p>\n

In the first experiment<\/a>, a large crystal was placed on a platform alongside a normal rock of similar size. Initially, both objects caught the chimps\u2019 attention. Soon after, theydiscarded the rock and the crystal became their favorite. Once they removed the crystal from the platform, all of the chimps inspected it by rotating and tilting it so that they could view it from a variety of angles. Yvan from group one then picked up the crystal and carried it to the animals\u2019 dormitories.<\/p>\n

The chimps were most interested in the crystal soon after exposure, but interest gradually declined over time. Humans exhibit this same pattern, when the novelty of an object fades. When the caretakers tried to retrieve the crystal, they had to exchange it for the chimps\u2019 favorite snacks, yogurt and bananas.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tToti analyzing the shape of the crystal\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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