Selection of Effective Stone Tools by Wild Bearded Capuchin Monkeys
Selection of Effective Stone Tools by Wild Bearded Capuchin Monkeys
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2008.11.064
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发表时间：
2009-02-10
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Fragaszy, Dorothy
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Visalberghi, Elisabetta;Addessi, Elsa;Fragaszy, Dorothy
对物体的启示和规划的欣赏是人类技术的标志。考古证据表明上新世的人类选择了制作工具的原材料[1，2]。石击被认为是工具制造的先驱[3，4]，现存灵长类动物的工具使用提供了对人类祖先材料选择起源的深入了解。没有研究实验研究了野生动物的石器工具的选择性，尽管黑猩猩似乎根据不同坚果种类的特性选择石头[5，6]。我们最近发现，有陆生习性的野生卷尾猴[7]使用锤子在铁砧上敲开坚果[8-10]。至于黑猩猩，对铁砧地点的检查表明了石头的选择性[11]，但间接证据无法证明这一点。在这里，我们证明了卷尾猴在3500万年前与人类有共同的祖先，面对功能特征（脆性和重量）不同的石头，选择、运输和使用有效的石头来敲开坚果。此外，当重量不能通过视觉属性来判断时，卷尾猴会采取行动来获取信息以指导它们的选择。因此，规划行动和有意选择工具属于猴子的范畴，类似于人类和猿类的工具活动。
Appreciation of objects' affordances and planning is a hallmark of human technology. Archeological evidence suggests that Pliocene hominins selected raw material for tool making [1, 2]. Stone pounding has been considered a precursor to tool making [3, 4], and tool use by living primates provides insight into the origins of material selection by human ancestors. No study has experimentally investigated selectivity of stone tools in wild animals, although chimpanzees appear to select stones according to properties of different nut species [5, 6]. We recently discovered that wild capuchins with terrestrial habits [7] use hammers to crack open nuts on anvils [8-10]. As for chimpanzees, examination of anvil sites suggests stone selectivity [11], but indirect evidence cannot prove it. Here, we demonstrate that capuchins, which last shared a common ancestor with humans 35 million years ago, faced with stones differing in functional features (friability and weight) choose, transport, and use the effective stone to crack nuts. Moreover, when weight cannot be judged by visual attributes, capuchins act to gain information to guide their selection. Thus, planning actions and intentional selection of tools is within the ken of monkeys and similar to the tool activities of hominins and apes.