Scientists have discovered after attentive analysis that wild monkeys can manufacture strong tools made out of stone. Researchers have examined the habitat of capuchin monkeys from Brazil. They have found sharp flakes made out of stone which resembled the first tools ever invented by humans. Are we people unique other not? The results of the study were published in the Nature magazine. The research presented the bonds established by paleoanthropologists between Stone Age manufacturers and the evolution of primitive human technology.
- Scientists have analyzed the behavior of capuchin monkeys.
- They have revealed that monkeys were manufacturing strong tools.
Tomos Proffitt, the lead author of the study and a paleoanthropologist at Oxford University, has argued that this new study determines men of science wonder about the core needs of our existence and the level of cognitive complexity. All scientists thought that the ability to build and manufacture weapons and robust tools is human-specific. Recent facts made experts question their previous knowledge of human’s evolution.
Previous anthropological studies have demonstrated that anthropologists were typically searching for tools or traces of tools when exploring early settlement of prehistoric people. Among the first manufactured reliable tools of individuals were sharp-edged stone flakes. They were obtained by breaking apart pieces of a rock when hitting it with another stone. Such devices were discovered over three million years ago, and they were kept in the archeological record.
The evolution of this sharp weapon reached to be developed into hand-axes during Stone Age. They were manufactured in the shape of a teardrop, being provided with a sharp end for cutting and another end used for gripping. Humans proved that they are no longer the only species who uses tools. We have previously known from other studies that there are animals like elephants and crows which use tools. It was also a well-known fact that chimpanzees were using rocks as hammers for cracking nuts.
However, the sharp stone flakes which emerge as a result of the stone-cracking habit do not resemble the stone chips which were manufactured by humans. A team of scientists from Oxford has analyzed the behavior of the capuchin monkeys from Serra da Capivara National Park. They have analyzed the way the use the stones and they have revealed that they have willingly smashed the rocks together to break them into little sharp stone flakes. They would use these tools to dig and to pound food.
Image source: flickr
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