Table 1. Number of full strides recorded for each species.SpeciesStridesAllochrocebus l’hoesti15Chlorocebus aethiops43Lophocebus albigena58Papio anubis29Piliocolobus tephrosceles42Hapalemur aureus13Eulemur rubriventer18Eulemur rufifrons14Lemur catta33Alouatta palliata37Plecturocebus discolor20Saimiri sciureus11Cebus capucinus41Lagothrix lagotricha12

Table 1. Number of full strides recorded for each species.SpeciesStridesAllochrocebus l’hoesti15Chlorocebus aethiops43Lophocebus albigena58Papio anubis29Piliocolobus tephrosceles42Hapalemur aureus13Eulemur rubriventer18Eulemur rufifrons14Lemur catta33Alouatta palliata37Plecturocebus discolor20Saimiri sciureus11Cebus capucinus41Lagothrix lagotricha12

Table 2. Holm-adjusted significance from permutation tests (10 000 permutations) of the substrate | phylogeny model, its terms, and resulting RDA axes. Bolded terms are significant after Holm adjustment for multiple testing across all analyses (full model, substrate | phylogeny, and phylogeny | substrate).TestpHolm-adjusted pRDA model1.00E-040.0067relative substrate diameter0.16>1incline vs. decline1.00E-040.0067horizontal vs. angled2.00E-040.0092RDA Axis 11.00E-040.0067RDA Axis 22.00E-040.0092RDA Axis 30.4167>1

Table 2. Holm-adjusted significance from permutation tests (10 000 permutations) of the substrate | phylogeny model, its terms, and resulting RDA axes. Bolded terms are significant after Holm adjustment for multiple testing across all analyses (full model, substrate | phylogeny, and phylogeny | substrate).TestpHolm-adjusted pRDA model1.00E-040.0067relative substrate diameter0.16>1incline vs. decline1.00E-040.0067horizontal vs. angled2.00E-040.0092RDA Axis 11.00E-040.0067RDA Axis 22.00E-040.0092RDA Axis 30.4167>1

Baseline of the behaviors present in the population of chimpanzees included in the study

Baseline of the behaviors present in the population of chimpanzees included in the study

This dataset contains data used to investigate the relation between intergroup encounters and energy balance (measure as urinary c-peptide variation), feeding behavior, and ranging behavior in wild bonobos. The dataset "UCP_model" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounters and c-peptide; the dataset "travel-dist_n.feed-patch_time-feed_models" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounter and travel distance, number of feeding patches visited, and time spent feeding; The dataset "DBH_model" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounters and size of feeding patches.

This dataset contains data used to investigate the relation between intergroup encounters and energy balance (measure as urinary c-peptide variation), feeding behavior, and ranging behavior in wild bonobos. The dataset "UCP_model" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounters and c-peptide; the dataset "travel-dist_n.feed-patch_time-feed_models" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounter and travel distance, number of feeding patches visited, and time spent feeding; The dataset "DBH_model" contains the data used to examine the relation between intergroup encounters and size of feeding patches.

The ability to know the direction of food sources is important for the foraging success of hunter–gatherers, especially in rainforests where dense vegetation limits visual detection distances. Besides sex and age, prior experience with the environment and the use of environmental cues are known to influence orientation abilities of humans. Among environmental cues, the position of the sun in the sky is important for orientation of diurnal animal species. However, whether or to what extent humans use the sun is largely unknown. Here, we investigated orientation abilities of the Mbendjele BaYaka people in the Republic of Congo, by conducting pointing tests (N_participants = 54, age: 6–76 years) in different locations in the rainforest. The Mbendjele were overall highly accurate at pointing to out-of-sight targets (median error: 6°). Pointing accuracy increased with age, but sex did not affect accuracy. Crucially, sun visibility increased pointing accuracy in young participants, especially when they were far from the camp. However, this effect became less apparent in older participants who exhibited high pointing accuracy, also when the sun was not visible. This study extends our understandings of orientation abilities of human foragers and provides the first behavioural evidence for sun compass use in humans.

The ability to know the direction of food sources is important for the foraging success of hunter–gatherers, especially in rainforests where dense vegetation limits visual detection distances. Besides sex and age, prior experience with the environment and the use of environmental cues are known to influence orientation abilities of humans. Among environmental cues, the position of the sun in the sky is important for orientation of diurnal animal species. However, whether or to what extent humans use the sun is largely unknown. Here, we investigated orientation abilities of the Mbendjele BaYaka people in the Republic of Congo, by conducting pointing tests (N_participants = 54, age: 6–76 years) in different locations in the rainforest. The Mbendjele were overall highly accurate at pointing to out-of-sight targets (median error: 6°). Pointing accuracy increased with age, but sex did not affect accuracy. Crucially, sun visibility increased pointing accuracy in young participants, especially when they were far from the camp. However, this effect became less apparent in older participants who exhibited high pointing accuracy, also when the sun was not visible. This study extends our understandings of orientation abilities of human foragers and provides the first behavioural evidence for sun compass use in humans.