Journal Reference: Tomos Proffitt et al, Wild macaques challenge the origin of deliberate tool production, Science Advances ( 2023 ). DOI: 10.1126/ sciadv.ade8159. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade8159.
But macaques make those too.
Mankinds emergence as the dominant types on earth is firmly linked to our ability to produce Stone Age Tools such as hammerstones or sharp stone flakes that enabled us to handle our environments with proficiency.
Archaeologists have methods of determining whether a sharp tool was actually utilized for cutting. You can search for traces of bone or other products that would have been cut with it and other indications of real cutting usage– but you might most likely throw a few of the macaque assemblage in with the hominin stays and they wouldnt stick out at all.
Archaeologists have long presumed that the flakes produced by hominins were tools, however what if theyre not? Or what if, a minimum of initially, they werent? Co-lead author Jonathan Reeves states the macaque tools could be a crucial piece of this evolutionary puzzle.
They were surprisingly similar when researchers compared the stone fragments produced by macaques in the Phang Nga National Park in Thailand to those produced by Stone Age human beings. Judging by this, you might possibly think that macaques are entering the same level of technological advancement as the hominin Stone Age. Heres the thing: the macaques produced the tools unintentionally– so what does this say about our ancestors?
If this is the case, the macaques havent figured out how to utilize them just yet, but they may be on the course to it. No matter what, this research study does cast some concerns about the advancement of our ancestors and how they came to utilize the tools that eventually set us on a path for world domination.
These artifacts are noticeably similar to the stone tools in some of the earliest historical sites in East Africa. The macaques do not seem to utilize them at all– they are simply spin-offs of their cracking method. Simply put, the macaques are producing sharp “tools” that theyre just not using.
Proffitt and colleagues were examining common artifacts left by the macaques. These monkeys use stone tools to split open hard-shelled nuts that they like so much. Its a common behavior that results in an assemblage of damaged stones, and the leftovers are typical throughout the landscape.
” The fact that these artifacts can be produced through nut splitting has implications for the range of behaviors we connect with sharp-edged flakes in the archaeological record.”
” The reality that these macaques use stone tools to process nuts is not unexpected, as they likewise utilize tools to acquire access to numerous shellfish. What is intriguing is that, in doing so they accidently produce a significant historical record of their own that is partly indistinguishable from some hominin artifacts.”
Examples of sharp-edged flakes produced unintentionally by long-tailed macaques. Credit: Proffitt et al, 2023.
Image credits: Example of a long-tailed macaque utilizing a stone tool to access food. Credit: Lydia V. Luncz.
” The capability to deliberately make sharp stone flakes is viewed as a vital point in the development of hominins, and understanding how and when this took place is a substantial concern that is usually examined through the research study of previous artifacts and fossils. Our research study reveals that stone tool production is not special to people and our ancestors,” says lead author Tomos Proffitt, a scientist at limit Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Humans arent the only animals able to produce tools. From birds to a number of kinds of monkeys and apes, and even octopuses, lots of animals are able to produce numerous kinds of tools.
When researchers compared the stone fragments produced by macaques in the Phang Nga National Park in Thailand to those produced by Stone Age humans, they were remarkably similar. Judging by this, you might maybe presume that macaques are going into the exact same level of technological advancement as the hominin Stone Age. These monkeys utilize stone tools to crack open hard-shelled nuts that they like so much. These artifacts are noticeably similar to the stone tools in some of the earliest historical sites in East Africa.” Cracking nuts using stone hammers and anvils, comparable to what some primates do today, has been recommended by some as a possible precursor to intentional stone tool production.
” Cracking nuts utilizing stone hammers and anvils, similar to what some primates do today, has been suggested by some as a possible precursor to intentional stone tool production. This study, along with previous ones published by our group, opens the door to being able to determine such a historical signature in the future,” says Lydia Luncz, senior author of the study and head of the Technological Primates Research Group at limit Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. “This discovery demonstrates how living primates can help researchers investigate the origin and development of tool usage in our own family tree.”