homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Macaque tool-use patterns help us understand how early humans went about it

Macaques rely on tools for foods such as shellfish.

Alexandru Micu
October 31, 2019 @ 8:21 pm

share Share

A new study on macaques at Thailand’s Ao Phang Nga National Park is helping us understand how early humans developed the use of stone tools.

Image credits Heiko S / Flickr.

Macaques tend to rely pretty heavily on stone tools, especially percussive (striking) tools, during their daily forage for food. This allows them access to more varied food sources — shellfish, in the case of the two groups of macaques that made the object of this study. The results indicate that while the environmental context definitely plays a part in tool use and development, cultural factors also matter.

Cracking oysters

“We observed differences among macaques on two different islands, in relation to tool selection and the degree of tool re-use when foraging for marine prey,” says co-author Dr. Tomos Proffitt from the University College London Institute of Archaeology.

The study assessed a total of 115 stone tools recovered from two islands (Boi Yai Island and Lobi Bay) located about 15 kilometers apart in southern Thailand, and are both part of the national park. Each island houses a population of wild long-tailed macaques, provides virtually the same tool-making resources (primarily limestone), and harbor the same prey species.

In such a context, the team expected both populations to develop similar, if not identical, tools. However, they found that the macaques on Boi Yai Island select heavier tools than their counterparts on Lobi Bay, while the latter’s tools show signs of repeated use on several species of prey.

Stone tools used to crack open oysters on Boi Yai tend to be larger than those used on Lobi Bay. While the team notes that oysters on Boi Yai Island are, in general, larger than those Lobi Bay, they believe that this is a learned rather than practical behavior.

“The theory is that if the environmental factors are the same—the only reasonable conclusion is that one island has developed its own tool using culture either through genetics or through passing down through a learning mechanism. While the other group exhibits a tool use culture which is more ephemeral and ad hoc,” says Dr. Proffitt.

Seeing how other primates develop and use tools today can help inform us about how our ancestors went about the same process. Lead author, Dr. Lydia Luncz (Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford), said:

“That we find a potential cultural behavior in macaques is not surprising to us. The interesting part is that the same foraging behavior creates distinct tool evidence in the environment. This might be useful to keep in mind when we look at the archaeological record of human ancestors as well”.

The paper “Group-specific archaeological signatures of stone tool use in wild macaques” has been published in the journal eLife.

share Share

A Simple Heat Hack Could Revolutionize How We Produce Yogurt

In principle, the method could be deployed tomorrow, researchers say.

Scientists Create a ‘Smart Sponge’ That Knows When to Heal and When to Fight Inflammation

This hydrogel could help millions of people lead a better life.

The Race to the Bottom: Japan Is Set to Start Testing Deep-Sea Mining

There's a big hidden cost to this practice.

Japan Just Smashed the Internet Speed World Record and It's Much Faster Than You Think

Researchers transmitted 127,500 GB every second — over the distance from Chicago to Dallas.

Can You Tell Which Knot Is Strongest? Most People Fail This Surprisingly Tough Challenge

Knots are a test of physical intuition and most of us are failing hard.

Scientists Call for a Global Pause on Creating “Mirror Life” Before It’s Too Late: “The threat we’re talking about is unprecedented”

Creating synthetic lifeforms is almost here, and the consequences could be devastating.

For the First Time Ever We Can See Planets Starting to Form Around a Star

JWST and ALMA peered through a natural opening in the star’s surrounding cloud to catch the action up close.

Low testosterone isn't killing your libido. Sugar is

Small increases in blood sugar can affect sperm and sex, even without diabetes

There might be an anti-aging secret hiding in magic mushrooms

Psilocybin extends cell life, and preserves aging DNA structures.

Not Just Hunters: Wooden Tools Unearth the Sophisticated, Plant-Eating World of Early Humans

What if the Stone Age wasn't really about stone?