A New Theory on Alcohol’s Evolutionary Roots
A new study suggests that our ability to enjoy and metabolize alcohol may trace back to African great apes who regularly consumed fermented fruits from the forest floor.
Researchers have even coined a new term for this behavior: “scrumping”—a word that describes the act of eating fallen, often overripe or fermented fruit. The findings, published in BioScience, could help explain why humans developed such a unique relationship with alcohol.
From Monkeys to Modern Humans
According to Nathaniel Dominy, anthropology professor at Dartmouth, and Luke Fannin, a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth, primates’ habit of eating fallen fruit has long been observed but rarely named.
Genetic studies published in 2015 revealed that a single amino acid change in our shared ancestor with African apes boosted the ability to metabolize alcohol by 40 times. This adaptation may have allowed early primates to safely eat fermented fruits without suffering from toxic effects.
Dominy explains:
“Gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans’ last common ancestor about 10 million years ago may have engaged in scrumping. That could explain why humans are surprisingly efficient at digesting alcohol.”
What Is “Scrumping”?
The word originates from Middle English and Old German roots meaning “shriveled” or “withered,” often used to describe overripe fruit. In modern Britain, “scrumpy” refers to a cloudy cider with a strong alcohol content.
In the wild, scrumping occurs when a primate eats fruit known to grow high in the canopy but instead consumes it from the ground. Field reports show that chimpanzees eat about 4.5 kilograms of fruit daily, leading to consistent low-level exposure to ethanol.
This suggests alcohol consumption may have been a natural and chronic part of primate life—a behavior that shaped both primate evolution and, later, human drinking culture.
Alcohol, Evolution, and Social Bonds
The study proposes that metabolizing ethanol allowed African apes to avoid competing for unripe fruits in trees while reducing risks associated with climbing.
But alcohol consumption isn’t only biological—it’s also social. Co-author Catherine Hobaiter, psychology and neuroscience professor at the University of St Andrews, notes that primates may have passed on the communal aspects of feeding on fermented fruit, a behavior echoed in human traditions of drinking together.
Hobaiter explains:
“A defining feature of our relationship with alcohol is its social nature—whether it’s sharing a beer with friends or enjoying a feast. The next step is studying how communal feeding on fermented fruits shapes primate social bonds.”
Why It Matters
By introducing the term “scrumping”, the researchers hope to highlight a behavior that was overlooked because it lacked a name—just as terms like “symbiosis” (1877) and “meme” (1976, coined by Richard Dawkins) reshaped scientific and cultural discussions.
Dominy concludes:
“If the term proves useful, it will spread. That’s natural selection at work.”
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