Episode 04: How To Document A Society

Tracking Every Moment

On the western edge of Tanzania, nestled along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, there exists a community like no other. This community, for the past 55 years, has meticulously tracked and recorded every waking moment of their lives. From meals eaten to miles traveled to social interactions, nothing goes unnoticed. This community, you see, is made up of chimpanzees.

Emily Beam, a PhD candidate at Duke University, is one of the researchers who has dedicated her time to observing and documenting the lives of these chimpanzees. She wakes up before sunrise, eagerly awaiting the first rustles from the trees. As the sun begins to rise, she collects urine and fecal samples, knowing that it's the first thing the chimps will do. From there, it's a day of crawling on hands and knees through vines and thorns, following the chimps wherever they may lead.

Beam is just one member of a large team of researchers, students, and field assistants at Gombe National Park. Together, they have embarked on the longest-running study of any animal in the wild. This groundbreaking project, known as the Gombe Chimpanzee Project, was started by Jane Goodall in 1960 with just a pair of binoculars, a notebook, and a pencil. Over the years, they have collected the life stories of over 300 individual chimpanzees, shaping our understanding of these incredible creatures in ways we could have never imagined.

The Stories Unfold

Imagine having a gadget that counts your steps and measures your sleep habits. Well, these chimpanzees at Gombe have data like this for their entire lives. The records read like a novel, filled with fascinating snippets of their daily activities. Researchers diligently type up these detailed descriptions, producing 15 to 20 pages of observations every single day. The amount of data collected is mind-boggling.

But it's not just about the day-to-day activities. The researchers also use check sheets to record systemic behaviors, such as grooming and social interactions. By the late 1960s, they were able to follow the chimps away from the feeding station, tracking their movements and interactions. This method of data collection continues to this day, with researchers spending up to 12 hours a day following a specific chimp and documenting their behavior.

A Treasure Trove of Data

The data collected over the past 55 years is nothing short of extraordinary. According to the Jane Goodall Institute, the Gombe Chimpanzee Project has amassed over 350,000 pieces of paper, including check sheets, maps, photos, videos, audio recordings, and detailed field notes. There are even 3