Deep in the African rainforest, when a chimpanzee rhythmically drums on a towering tree root, it may be doing much more than making noise. New research suggests this drumming behavior could represent one of the earliest forms of communication — a shared trait between humans and our closest evolutionary relatives.

According to a study published in Current Biology and reported by the Associated Press, chimpanzees create distinct and rhythmic drumming patterns on tree roots, possibly as a way to send messages through the dense jungle. These low-frequency sounds can travel over a kilometer, helping chimps announce their location or direction to distant companions.

“Our ability to produce rhythm — and to use it in our social worlds — seems to be something that predates humans being human,” said Dr. Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and one of the study’s co-authors.

The researchers analyzed 371 instances of drumming behavior among wild chimpanzees and found that the patterns were anything but random. “They clearly play their instruments — the tree trunks — with regular rhythms,” said Henkjan Honing, a music cognition expert at the University of Amsterdam.

Each chimpanzee appears to have a unique rhythmic “signature,” allowing others in the group to identify who is drumming. The researchers suggest this rhythmic drumming serves as a kind of social check-in, similar to how humans might send a text or shout across a field.

Interestingly, regional differences in drumming styles were also observed. Western chimpanzees typically maintain a steady beat, while eastern chimpanzees tend to mix short and long beats — a variation akin to dialects in human language.

The study also highlights the chimps' selective use of tools. Much like they use sticks to fish for termites or stones to crack nuts, chimpanzees carefully choose specific tree roots to drum on — often selecting wood types that produce sounds capable of traveling longer distances.

“These tree roots are a kind of musical instrument,” explained Dr. Catherine Crockford, co-author of the study and head of the Ape Social Mind Lab at the CNRS Institute for Cognitive Sciences in Lyon, France. “The drumming is likely a very important way to make contact.”

In a related study published in Science Advances, Crockford and her team found that chimpanzees also combine vocal sounds to convey complex messages. For instance, a mix of a “resting call” and a “play call” becomes an invitation to nest together for the night.

Taken together, these findings are reshaping what we know about non-human communication. “We have probably underestimated the flexibility and complexity of animal communication,” Crockford noted.

As researchers continue to decode the rhythms of the rainforest, they may be uncovering the evolutionary roots of music, language, and social connection itself — all hidden within the beats of a drumming chimp.