Scientists Discover Surprising Similarities in Stone Tools of Early Humans and Monkeys - SciTechDaily

The study focuses on fresh analyses of stone tools employed by long-tailed macaques in Thailand’s Phang Nga National Park.

Furthermore, numerous artifacts exhibit the same traits typically associated with purposefully crafted stone tools found at 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 artifacts 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.

Co-lead author Jonathan Reeves highlights: “The fact that these artifacts can be produced through nut cracking has implications for the range of behaviors we associate with sharp-edged flakes in the archaeological record..”

Reference: “Wild macaques challenge the origin of intentional tool production” by Tomos Proffitt, Jonathan S. Reeves, David R. Braun, Suchinda Malaivijitnond and Lydia V. Luncz, 10 March 2023, Science Advances.