Crystals Have Captivated Humans for 780,000 Years—Turns Out Chimps Feel the Same Way

What would a chimpanzee do if you handed it a glittering quartz crystal? Apparently, the same thing many of us would—hold onto it, study it and refuse to let it go.

A new study has found that chimpanzees are drawn to crystals in strikingly familiar ways, picking them out of piles of ordinary rocks, turning them over in the light and even carrying them to bed.

The findings suggest that the human love affair with sparkling stones may stretch back millions of years, rooted not in culture or spirituality but in something far older—primate biology itself.

A crystal obsession 780,000 years in the making

Archaeological evidence shows human ancestors were collecting quartz and calcite stones as far back as 780,000 years ago.

There is no evidence these stones were made into tools or served any practical function. They were seemingly collected just because.

Modern humans continue to be drawn to crystals, sometimes attributing healing or spiritual powers to them. But the new research suggests we are not the only primates captivated by these geometric treasures.

Do chimps share that same crystal obsession?

The research was led by Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, a crystallographer based at the Donostia International Physics Center in Spain whose career has focused on the physical properties of crystals.

The study, titled “On the origin of our fascination with crystals,” aimed to unpack how crystals have shaped the human mind and art history. It was published March 3, 2026 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

After all, chimpanzees share a common ancestor with humans from roughly 6–8 million years ago. If chimps also gravitate toward crystals, it could suggest this attraction is deeply embedded in primate biology and millions of years old.

The experiments took place at Rainfer Fundación Chimpatía, a primate rescue center near Madrid, Spain, with two separate groups of chimpanzees described as “enculturated,” meaning they had significant prior exposure to humans and human environments.

Three experiments that shocked scientists

The first experiment was named “The Monolith” after the iconic object in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Researchers placed a large, multi-faceted quartz crystal about one foot tall and weighing 3.3 kg on a pedestal in the chimps’ outdoor area. A similarly sized sandstone rock sat on another pedestal nearby.

The chimps were initially curious about both objects but quickly lost interest in the sandstone and focused intensely on the quartz.

“The way they “studied” it there, turning it over to observe it from different angles, was amazing,” García-Ruiz said in an interview with IFL Science.

In one group, the alpha female removed the crystal from its pedestal, after which the group rarely let it out of their sight. A 50-year-old male named Yvan was filmed carrying it while climbing and eating.

In the other group, a chimp named Sandy immediately grabbed both objects and took them inside their sleeping corridor.

When researchers tried to retrieve the crystal, they had to offer large quantities of bananas and yogurt in exchange — suggesting the chimps placed real value on it. Some smaller crystals were never recovered at all.

In a second experiment, researchers placed pebble piles containing a few small quartz and calcite crystals in the yard.

The chimps quickly and deliberately picked the crystals out from among the regular pebbles. They examined them by rotating them in the light, held them up to their eyes and carried them in their mouths.

Carrying crystals in their mouth was unusual chimp behavior. It may indicate they considered the objects precious.
Security cameras later revealed one chimp still holding a crystal while settling into his sleeping area.

A third experiment added pyrite, a more metallic and cubic-shaped crystal, to the pebble piles alongside quartz and calcite.

Sandy scooped up a mouthful of the mix, climbed to an elevated platform and separated all three crystal types from the regular pebbles. Quartz, calcite and pyrite differ in transparency, symmetry and surface sheen, so this sorting ability surprised the researchers.

What scientists hope to learn from the chimps

The chimps appeared to be attracted to the crystals’ geometric regularity and their ability to transmit or reflect light—qualities that are rare in the natural world, where most objects are irregular or curved.

The study noted that “the chimpanzees’ interest in crystals goes beyond novelty.”

García-Ruiz believes crystals, as the only naturally occurring objects with precise geometric shapes, may have played a role in helping early humans develop abstract and mathematical thinking.

“We were pleasantly surprised by how strong and seemingly natural the chimpanzees’ attraction to crystals was. This suggests that sensitivity to such objects may have deep evolutionary roots,” García-Ruiz wrote in a statement.

“If our results are correct, then we have had crystals on our minds for at least 7 million years,” García-Ruiz told IFL Science.