Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have discovered many artifacts,
Researchers have discovered that cynomolgus macaques, orCynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) use stones to crack hard-shelled nuts. In this case, many “tools” break and are thrown away. As a result, the habitat of representatives of these species is strewn with fragments of stones.
Flake-like fragments (indicated by red arrow) formed when macaque monkeys crack open nuts. Image: Tomos Proffitt et al., Science Advances
The researchers compared randomly generatedmacaque stone fragments with finds from some of the earliest archaeological sites. Analysis has shown that many of the ape-created artifacts are indistinguishable from those commonly associated with early hominids.
The fact that these macaques use stonenut handling tools, no wonder, since they also use tools to gain access to various shellfish. Interestingly, in doing so, they accidentally produce their own archaeological records, which are partially indistinguishable from some hominin artifacts.
Tomos Proffit, study co-author at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Examples of flakes accidentally created by macaques. Image: Tomos Proffitt et al., Science Advances
The results of the study suggest a newunderstanding how the first technologies may have come from our earliest ancestors. Until now, sharp-edged stone fragments were thought to be the beginning of the deliberate production of stone tools, one of the defining and unique characteristics of hominin evolution. Probably, the formation of flakes in humans was also initially accidental and was associated with cracking nuts.
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On the cover: monkeys using stone tools to crack nuts. Image: Lydia V. Luncz, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft