Stone remnants made by monkeys resemble the tools of ancient human ancestors
The study shows that the production of stone tools is not exclusive to human ancestors (Thomas Betelli)
The results of a recent study provide new insights into the emergence of early technology in the early ancestors of humans
A recent study has found that stone remains made by macaques in Thailand bear similarities to tools used by early human ancestors unearthed at some of the oldest archaeological sites in East Africa.
A number of researchers, some of them from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, analyzed tools used by Asian long-tailed macaques in Phang Nga National Park in Thailand, knowing that they use stones to open the hard-shelled nuts.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Science, found that the stone fragments resulting from the use of stones by monkeys bear the same characteristics that are usually taken into account when identifying stone tools that hominin ancestors deliberately made for use.
"The ability to deliberately and deliberately manufacture sharp stone flakes is seen as a critical point in the evolution of hominins, as they are called, but knowing how and when this was achieved remains a big question that scientists seek to answer by studying artifacts," said researcher Tomos Profitt, who led the study. Ancient artifacts and fossils.
"Our study shows that the production of stone tools is not exclusive to humans and our ancestors," Prof Profet said.
Indeed, it is "not surprising" that monkeys used stone tools, but the inadvertent production of a "large archaeological record" made by macaques looks like some early hominin artifacts to an "indistinguishable" degree.
The researchers compared stone fragments made by macaques with stone fragments found in some of the oldest archaeological sites.
In conclusion, they found that many of the artefacts produced by the apes fall within the range of artifacts commonly associated with early hominins.
"The fact that these artifacts can be produced by cracking nuts has implications for a range of behaviors that we typically associate with sharp-edged flakes in the archaeological record," said researcher Jonathan Reeves, who was also involved in the study.
The researchers believe that the stone tools used by the macaques provide new insights into the pathways that led to the emergence of the first technology among our early ancestors.
They also show that the origin of tool use in the ancestors of early humans may have been associated with nut-cracking-like behavior that could go back much further in time than the oldest extant archaeological record.
Lydia Loncz, one of the researchers in the study, also spoke in this regard, explaining that "some of them pointed to cracking nuts using stone hammers and anvils, similar to the behavior of some monkeys today, as a possible precursor to the deliberate production of stone tools."
The researchers say the findings open the door to similar archaeological fingerprints in the future.
"This discovery shows how live apes can help researchers investigate the origins and evolution of tool use in our species," added Dr. Loncz.
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