Until now, pointed stone tools were thought to represent the beginning of deliberate stone tool making, one of the defining and unique features of hominin evolution. A new study casts doubt on long-held beliefs about the origins of deliberate tool-making in the human race.
The study is based on analysis of stone tools used by long-tailed macaques in Thailand. They use stone tools to break up nuts.
“Our study shows that stone tool production was not unique to humans and our ancestors,” said Tomos Proffitt, lead author of the study. “It’s not surprising that these macaques use stone tools to process nuts, since they also use tools to access various shellfish. Interestingly, in doing so they inadvertently produce important archaeological records (create tools, – ca. Ferra.ru) some hominins. partly indistinguishable from his works.”
Source: Ferra
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