Capuchin monkeys can make and use stone tools

Wasserman, Edward A.; Thompson, Roger K. R.

doi:10.3758/s13420-016-0257-7

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This suggests that the relations between handedness, tool use, and language itself as documented in this article may have evolutionary roots even earlier than the separation of the hominins from the line leading to modern great apes. Another recent study reveals that even capuchins make and use stone tools ( Wasserman and Thompson, 2017 ).…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Lateralized Brain Circuits

Corballis

2017

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the vast clade of animals known as the bilateria, cerebral and behavioral asymmetries emerge against the backdrop of bilateral symmetry, with a functional trade-off between the two. Asymmetries can lead to more efficient processing and packaging of internal structures, but at the expense of efficient adaptation to a natural world without systematic left-right bias. Asymmetries may arise through the fissioning of ancestral structures that are largely symmetrical, creating new circuits. In humans these may include asymmetrical adaptations to language and manufacture, and as one or other hemisphere gains dominance for functions that were previously represented bilaterally. This is best illustrated in the evolution of such functions as language and tool manufacture in humans, which may derive from the mirror-neuron system in primates, but similar principles probably apply to the many other asymmetries now evident in a wide range of animals. Asymmetries arise in largely independent manner with multi-genetic sources, rather than as a single over-riding principle.

show abstract

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Lateralized Brain Circuits

Corballis

2017

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Though tool use has been observed in both the Catarrhini and Platyrrhini, only a limited number of primate species have been observed using tools, and even fewer have been documented to use tools habitually (Haslam et al, 2013;Ottoni & Izar, 2008;Wasserman & Thompson, 2017). In a widely used definition of tool use, Beck (1980, p. 10) insists that a tool must be an item "separate from that of the body of the user," must be derived from the environment, and "must be manipulated" to produce an "intentional outcome."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tool use by nonhuman primates is of particular interest for primatologists, anthropologists, paleoanthropologists, psychologists, and neuroscientists because of its potential to inform understanding of both nonhuman primate ecology and cognition as well as tool use in hominin evolution (Bandini et al, 2020; Barrett et al, 2018; Haslam, 2013; Johnson‐Frey, 2004; Osiurak & Reynaud, 2020). Though tool use has been observed in both the Catarrhini and Platyrrhini, only a limited number of primate species have been observed using tools, and even fewer have been documented to use tools habitually (Haslam et al, 2013; Ottoni & Izar, 2008; Wasserman & Thompson, 2017). In a widely used definition of tool use, Beck (1980, p. 10) insists that a tool must be an item “separate from that of the body of the user,” must be derived from the environment, and “must be manipulated” to produce an “intentional outcome.” Here we use St. Amant and Horton's (2008, p. 1203) definition that tool use is “the exertion of control over a freely manipulable external object (the tool) with the goal of (1) altering the physical properties of another object, substance, surface or medium (the target, which may be the tool user or another organism) via a dynamic mechanical interaction, or (2) mediating the flow of information between the tool user and the environment or other organisms in the environment.” This definition is used preferentially to that of Beck (1980) because it includes all of Beck's requirements while also including mediation of information and target alteration as potential objectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A robust tool kit: First report of tool use in captive crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus)

Steinberg

Lynch

Cartmill

2022

American J Primatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Primate tool use is of great interest but has been reported only in a limited number of species. Here we report tool use in crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus), an almost completely unstudied robust capuchin species. Crested capuchins and their sister species, the yellow‐breasted capuchin, diverged from a common ancestor over 2 million years ago, so this study fills a significant gap in understanding of tool use capacity and variation within the robust capuchin monkey radiation. Our study group was a captive population of seven individuals at the Santa Ana Zoo in California. The monkeys were given no prior training, and they were provided with a variety of enrichment items, including materials that could be used as tools as well as hard‐to‐access resources, for open‐ended interactions. In 54 observation hours, monkeys performed eleven tool use actions: digging, hammering, probing, raking, sponging, striking, sweeping, throwing, waving, wedging, and wiping. We observed tool modification, serial tool use, and social learning opportunities, including monkeys' direct observation of tool use and tolerated scrounging of foods obtained through tool use. We also observed significant individual skew in tool use frequency, with one individual using tools daily, and two individuals never using tools during the study. While crested capuchins have never been reported to use tools in the wild, our findings provide evidence for the species' capacity and propensity for tool use, highlighting the urgent need for research on this understudied, endangered primate. By providing detailed data on clearly identified S. robustus individuals, this study marks an effort to counteract the overgeneralization in the captive literature in referring to any robust capuchins of unknown provenance or ancestry as Cebus apella, a practice that obfuscates potential differences among species in tool use performance and repertoire in one of the only species‐rich tool‐using genera in the world.

show abstract

Capuchin monkeys can make and use stone tools

Abstract: Summary Scientists hoping to elucidate the origin of human stone tool manufacture and use have looked to extant primate species for possible clues. Although some skepticism has been raised, there is clear evidence that today’s capuchin monkeys can make and use stone tools.

Cited by 2 publications

References 3 publications

The Evolution of Lateralized Brain Circuits

The Evolution of Lateralized Brain Circuits

A robust tool kit: First report of tool use in captive crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About