MSGID: 1:317/3 640c03e6   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Surprising similarities in stone tools of early humans and monkeys   
    Accidentally produced stone fragments made by macaques resemble some of   
   the earliest hominin stone artifacts    
      
     Date:   
         March 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have discovered artefacts produced by old world monkeys   
         in Thailand that resemble stone tools, which historically have been   
         identified as intentionally made by early hominins. Until now,   
         sharp- edged stone tools were thought to represent the onset of   
         intentional stone tool production, one of the defining and unique   
         characteristics of hominin evolution. This new study challenges   
         long held beliefs about the origins of intentional tool production   
         in our own lineage.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology   
   have discovered artefacts produced by old world monkeys in Thailand   
   that resemble stone tools, which historically have been identified as   
   intentionally made by early hominins. Until now, sharp-edged stone tools   
   were thought to represent the onset of intentional stone tool production,   
   one of the defining and unique characteristics of hominin evolution. This   
   new study challenges long held beliefs about the origins of intentional   
   tool production in our own lineage.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The research is based on new analyses of stone tools used by long-tailed   
   macaques in the Phang Nga National Park in Thailand. These monkeys   
   use stone tools to crack open hard-shelled nuts. In that process,   
   the monkeys often break their hammerstones and anvils. The resulting   
   assemblage of broken stones is substantial and widespread across the   
   landscape. Moreover, many of these artefacts bear all of the same   
   characteristics that are commonly used to identify intentionally made   
   stone tools in some of the earliest archaeological sites in East Africa.   
      
   "The ability to intentionally make sharp stone flakes is seen as a   
   crucial point in the evolution of hominins, and understanding how and   
   when this occurred is a huge question that is typically investigated   
   through the study of past artefacts and fossils. Our study shows that   
   stone tool production is not unique to humans and our ancestors," says   
   lead author Tomos Proffitt, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute   
   for Evolutionary Anthropology. "The fact that these macaques use stone   
   tools to process nuts is not surprising, as they also use tools to gain   
   access to various shellfish as well. What is interesting is that, in   
   doing so they accidently produce a substantial archaeological record of   
   their own that is partly indistinguishable from some hominin artefacts."   
   New insights into the evolution of stone tool technology By comparing   
   the accidentally produced stone fragments made by the macaques with   
   those from some of the earliest archaeological sites, the researchers   
   were able to show that many of the artefacts produced by monkeys fall   
   within the range of those commonly associated with early hominins. Co-lead   
   author Jonathan Reeves highlights: "The fact that these artifacts can be   
   produced through nut cracking has implications for the range of behaviours   
   we associate with sharp edged flakes in the archaeological record.."   
   The newly discovered macaque stone tools offer new insights into how the   
   first technology might have started in our earliest ancestors and that   
   its origin may have been linked to similar nut cracking behaviour which   
   could be substantially older than the current earliest archaeological   
   record. "Cracking nuts using 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 identify such an archaeological signature in the   
   future," says Lydia Luncz, senior author of the study and head of the   
   Technological Primates Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for   
   Evolutionary Anthropology. "This discovery shows how living primates   
   can help researchers investigate the origin and evolution of tool use   
   in our own lineage."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Monkeys # Evolutionary_Biology # Birds   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Weather # Climate # Recycling_and_Waste   
             o Fossils_&_Ruins   
                   # Cultures # Evolution # Early_Humans   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Stone_tool o Stone_Age o Rosetta_Stone o Jane_Goodall o   
             Homo_heidelbergensis o Artifact_(archaeology) o Homo_ergaster   
             o Human_evolution   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Max_Planck_Institute_for_Evolutionary_Anthropology. Note: Content may   
   be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Related Multimedia:   
       * Long-tailed_macaque_using_a_stone_tool_to_access_food   
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Tomos Proffitt, Jonathan S. Reeves, David R. Braun, Suchinda   
         Malaivijitnond, Lydia V. Luncz. Wild macaques challenge the   
         origin of intentional tool production. Science Advances, 2023 DOI:   
         10.1126/ sciadv.ade8159   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230310143653.htm   
      
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