What role might culture play in intelligence? And how does human culture differ from culture found in other animals? Nicola Davis explores our evolutionary history

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In 1921, residents of the small town of Swaythling in southern England were shocked to find the milk bottles on their doorsteps had been vandalised, with the foil caps pierced and the valuable cream gone. Fingers were pointed at possible culprits, but as the cream theft swept across the country – and eventually Europe – it was discovered that birds were in fact the thieves. Fast-forward to 2014 and researchers found that different populations of great tits showed different variations of this kind of feeding behaviour, leaving scientists to conclude that these birds were able to transmit cultural behaviours. But how does this kind of cultural transmission differ from that found in humans? What what does this tell us about general intelligence? And, fundamentally, how important is culture to our own evolutionary history?

To help explore all this and more, Nicola Davis sits down with Professor Kevin Laland from the University of St Andrews, whose latest book, Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony, suggests the human mind was built, in part, by culture. And to explore intelligence in other animals – including dolphins and orcas – is Professor Diana Reiss from Hunter College, New York.