A new study reveals that modern chimpanzees select stones for tools in a way that resembles the behavior of early human ancestors, shedding light on the evolution of tool use.
An experimental study of modern chimpanzees has documented patterns of behavior that seemingly mirror those of our prehistoric human ancestors, casting light on how our predecessors may have utilized tools.The study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, demonstrates that the process used by a group of chimps to select stones for use as tools appear to resemble what is documented for Oldowan hominins.
This term refers to early human ancestors who are associated with the Oldowan stone tool industry. (Hominins are a group of species that includes modern humans plus all our extinct ancestors and relatives since the split from the common ancestor we share with chimpanzees.)The Oldowan tools—dated to between 2.9/2.6 million and 1.7 million years ago—are among the first to be used by early hominins. There is evidence though for even earlier tool use stretching back more than 3 million years ago. The origins of this technology remain the subject of significant debate.Humans have been able to use technology to conquer virtually every terrestrial habitat on the planet. This is largely the result of our ability to use tools. However, we don't know when humans really became dependent on these tools,' study author David Braun, with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, told Newsweek.Recent research has indicated that tool use may have very deep roots among hominoids—the group of primates that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, bonobos and humans. This is perhaps not surprising given that there are numerous examples of tool use as an adaptive strategy in the animal kingdom today, particularly among primates.The use of tools is shared by humans and our closest relatives, chimpanzees, for example. There is also evidence to suggest that chimps have the ability to take into account certain physical properties of stones—such as size and weight—when selecting rocks for use as task-appropriate tool
TOOL USE CHIMPANZEES HUMAN EVOLUTION HOMININS OLDOWAN
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