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Luncz LV, Slania NE, Almeida-Warren K, Carvalho S, Falótico T, Malaivijitnond S, Arroyo A, de la Torre I, Proffitt T. Tool skill impacts the archaeological evidence across technological primates. Sci Rep 2024; 14:16556. [PMID: 39019910 PMCID: PMC11255293 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67048-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The archaeological record offers insights into our evolutionary past by revealing ancient behaviour through stone and fossil remains. Percussive foraging is suggested to be particularly relevant for the emergence of tool-use in our lineage, yet early hominin percussive behaviours remain largely understudied compared to flaked technology. Stone tool-use of extant primates allows the simultaneous investigation of their artefacts and the associated behaviours. This is important for understanding the development of tool surface modification, and crucial for interpreting damage patterns in the archaeological record. Here, we compare the behaviour and the resulting material record across stone tool-using primates. We investigate the relationship of nut-cracking technique and stone tool modification across chimpanzees, capuchins, and long-tailed macaques by conducting standardized field experiments with comparable raw materials. We show that different techniques likely emerged in response to diverse nut hardness, leading to variation in foraging success across species. Our experiments further demonstrate a correlation between techniques and the intensity of visible percussive damage on the tools. Tools used with more precision and efficiency as demonstrated by macaques, show fewer use wear traces. This suggests that some percussive techniques may be less readily identified in the archaeological record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia V Luncz
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Nora E Slania
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Katarina Almeida-Warren
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- Department of Science, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
| | - Tiago Falótico
- CapCult Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Suchinda Malaivijitnond
- National Primate Research Center of Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, Saraburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Adrián Arroyo
- Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP), Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Department of History and Archaeology, University of Barcelona, 08001, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio de la Torre
- Instituto de Historia, Spanish National Research Council-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Tomos Proffitt
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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Bono D, Belyk M, Longo MR, Dick F. Beyond language: The unspoken sensory-motor representation of the tongue in non-primates, non-human and human primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104730. [PMID: 35691470 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The English idiom "on the tip of my tongue" commonly acknowledges that something is known, but it cannot be immediately brought to mind. This phrase accurately describes sensorimotor functions of the tongue, which are fundamental for many tongue-related behaviors (e.g., speech), but often neglected by scientific research. Here, we review a wide range of studies conducted on non-primates, non-human and human primates with the aim of providing a comprehensive description of the cortical representation of the tongue's somatosensory inputs and motor outputs across different phylogenetic domains. First, we summarize how the properties of passive non-noxious mechanical stimuli are encoded in the putative somatosensory tongue area, which has a conserved location in the ventral portion of the somatosensory cortex across mammals. Second, we review how complex self-generated actions involving the tongue are represented in more anterior regions of the putative somato-motor tongue area. Finally, we describe multisensory response properties of the primate and non-primate tongue area by also defining how the cytoarchitecture of this area is affected by experience and deafferentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bono
- Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK.
| | - Michel Belyk
- Department of Speech, Hearing, and Phonetic Sciences, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet St, London WC1E7HX, UK
| | - Frederic Dick
- Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet St, London WC1E7HX, UK.
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Hernandez-Aguilar RA, Reitan T. Deciding Where to Sleep: Spatial Levels of Nesting Selection in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Living in Savanna at Issa, Tanzania. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00186-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTo understand how animals select resources we need to analyze selection at different spatial levels or scales in the habitat. We investigated which physical characteristics of trees (dimensions and structure, e.g., height, trunk diameter, number of branches) determined nesting selection by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) on two different spatial scales: individual nesting trees and nesting sites. We also examined whether individual tree selection explained the landscape pattern of nesting site selection. We compared the physical characteristics of actual (N = 132) and potential (N = 242) nesting trees in nesting sites (in 15 plots of 25 m × 25 m) and of all trees in actual and potential nesting sites (N = 763 in 30 plots of 25 m × 25 m). We collected data in May and June 2003 in Issa, a dry and open savanna habitat in Tanzania. Chimpanzees selected both the site they used for nesting in the landscape and the trees they used to build nests within a nesting site, demonstrating two levels of spatial selection in nesting. Site selection was stronger than individual tree selection. Tree height was the most important variable for both nesting site and tree selection in our study, suggesting that chimpanzees selected both safe sites and secure trees for sleeping.
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Chimpanzees' technical reasoning: Taking fieldwork and ontogeny seriously. Behav Brain Sci 2020; 43:e158. [PMID: 32772999 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x2000028x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Following the tradition of comparing humans with chimpanzees placed under unfavorable conditions, the authors suggest many uniquely human technological abilities. However, chimpanzees use spontaneously tools in nature to achieve many different goals demonstrating technological skills and reasoning contradicting the authors contrast. Chimpanzees and humans develop skills through the experiences faced during their upbringing and neglecting this leads to fake conclusions.
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Selecting between iron-rich and clay-rich soils: a geophagy field experiment with black-and-white colobus monkeys in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Primates 2020; 62:133-142. [PMID: 32676864 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00845-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Geophagy, the intentional consumption of soil, has been observed in humans and numerous other animal species. Geophagy has been posited to be adaptive, i.e., consumed soil protects against gastrointestinal distress and/or supplements micronutrients. We conducted a field experiment in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, to investigate geophagic behaviors, including soil preference, the quantity of soil eaten, and competition for access to preferred soils. We placed pairs of artificial tree stumps at two existing geophagy sites. One stump contained soil from the surrounding area, Sonso, that could supplement bioavailable iron. The other stump contained soil from a neighboring community, Waibira, that was richer in clay minerals, which could provide protection from plant secondary compounds. We monitored activity and engagement with the stumps for 10 days using camera traps. After 5 days, we reversed the type of soil that was in the stumps at both sites (i.e., a crossover design). Only Colobus guereza (black-and-white colobus monkeys) interacted with the stumps. These monkeys used visual and olfactory cues to select between the two soils and exclusively ate the clay-rich soil, consuming 9.67 kg of soil over 4.33 h. Our findings lend the greatest plausibility to the protection hypothesis. Additionally, monkeys competed for access to the stumps, and 13% of the videos captured aggression, including pushing, excluding, and chasing other individuals from the experimental stumps. Nine episodes of vigilance and flight behavior were also observed. Given that intentionally ingested soil is a valuable resource that may confer health benefits, geophagy sites should be conserved and protected.
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Abstract
Cumulative technological culture (CTC) refers to the increase in the efficiency and complexity of tools and techniques in human populations over generations. A fascinating question is to understand the cognitive origins of this phenomenon. Because CTC is definitely a social phenomenon, most accounts have suggested a series of cognitive mechanisms oriented toward the social dimension (e.g., teaching, imitation, theory of mind, and metacognition), thereby minimizing the technical dimension and the potential influence of non-social, cognitive skills. What if we have failed to see the elephant in the room? What if social cognitive mechanisms were only catalyzing factors and not the sufficient and necessary conditions for the emergence of CTC? In this article, we offer an alternative, unified cognitive approach to this phenomenon by assuming that CTC originates in non-social cognitive skills, namely technical-reasoning skills which enable humans to develop the technical potential necessary to constantly acquire and improve technical information. This leads us to discuss how theory of mind and metacognition, in concert with technical reasoning, can help boost CTC. The cognitive approach developed here opens up promising new avenues for reinterpreting classical issues (e.g., innovation, emulation vs. imitation, social vs. asocial learning, cooperation, teaching, and overimitation) in a field that has so far been largely dominated by other disciplines, such as evolutionary biology, mathematics, anthropology, archeology, economics, and philosophy.
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Klump BC, Cantat M, Rutz C. Raw-material selectivity in hook-tool-crafting New Caledonian crows. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20180836. [PMID: 30958132 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals that manufacture foraging tools face the challenge of identifying suitable raw materials among a multitude of options. New Caledonian crows exhibit strong population-specific material preferences for the manufacture of hooked stick tools, but it is unknown how they identify their favourite plants. We investigated experimentally whether crows pay attention to the stems of plants (from which the tools are made) and/or their leaves (which are usually discarded during manufacture but may enable rapid and reliable species identification at a distance). Subjects were highly selective in choice trials with multiple plant species. Two additional treatments with experimental leaf-stem combinations revealed that birds can identify their preferred plant species by its stems alone, and possibly also its leaves. These findings encourage future experiments that investigate whether New Caledonian crows attend to features of the stem that are required for the production of efficient hooked stick tools. Our study provides one of the most detailed assessments to date of how non-human animals identify raw materials for tool manufacture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara C Klump
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews , Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK
| | - Mathieu Cantat
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews , Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews , Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK
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McCarthy MS, Després-Einspenner ML, Samuni L, Mundry R, Lemoine S, Preis A, Wittig RM, Boesch C, Kühl HS. An assessment of the efficacy of camera traps for studying demographic composition and variation in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22904. [PMID: 30088683 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Demographic factors can strongly influence patterns of behavioral variation in animal societies. Traditionally, these factors are measured using longitudinal observation of habituated social groups, particularly in social animals like primates. Alternatively, noninvasive biomonitoring methods such as camera trapping can allow researchers to assess species occupancy, estimate population abundance, and study rare behaviors. However, measures of fine-scale demographic variation, such as those related to age and sex structure or subgrouping patterns, pose a greater challenge. Here, we compare demographic data collected from a community of habituated chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Taï Forest using two methods: camera trap videos and observational data from long-term records. By matching data on party size, seasonal variation in party size, measures of demographic composition, and changes over the study period from both sources, we compared the accuracy of camera trap records and long-term data to assess whether camera trap data could be used to assess such variables in populations of unhabituated chimpanzees. When compared to observational data, camera trap data tended to underestimate measures of party size, but revealed similar patterns of seasonal variation as well as similar community demographic composition (age/sex proportions) and dynamics (particularly emigration and deaths) during the study period. Our findings highlight the potential and limitations of camera trap surveys for estimating fine-scale demographic composition and variation in primates. Continuing development of field and statistical methods will further improve the usability of camera traps for demographic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen S McCarthy
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Roger Mundry
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sylvain Lemoine
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hjalmar S Kühl
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Leipzig-Jena, Leipzig, Germany
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9
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van Pinxteren BOCM, Sirianni G, Gratton P, Després-Einspenner ML, Egas M, Kühl H, Lapuente J, Meier AC, Janmaat KRL. Sooty mangabeys scavenge on nuts cracked by chimpanzees and red river hogs-An investigation of inter-specific interactions around tropical nut trees. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22895. [PMID: 30024029 PMCID: PMC6174941 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Carrion scavenging is a well‐studied phenomenon, but virtually nothing is known about scavenging on plant material, especially on remnants of cracked nuts. Just like meat, the insides of hard‐shelled nuts are high in energetic value, and both foods are difficult to acquire. In the Taï forest, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus) crack nuts by using tools or strong jaws, respectively. In this study, previously collected non‐invasive camera trap data were used to investigate scavenging by sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys), two species of Guinea fowl (Agelestres meleagrides; Guttera verreauxi), and squirrels (Scrunidae spp.) on the nut remnants cracked by chimpanzees and red river hogs. We investigated how scavengers located nut remnants, by analyzing their visiting behavior in relation to known nut‐cracking events. Furthermore, since mangabeys are infrequently preyed upon by chimpanzees, we investigated whether they perceive an increase in predation risk when approaching nut remnants. In total, 190 nut‐cracking events were observed in four different areas of Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. We could confirm that mangabeys scavenged on the nuts cracked by chimpanzees and hogs and that this enabled them to access food source that would not be accessible otherwise. We furthermore found that mangabeys, but not the other species, were more likely to visit nut‐cracking sites after nut‐cracking activities than before, and discuss the potential strategies that the monkeys could have used to locate nut remnants. In addition, mangabeys showed elevated levels of vigilance at the chimpanzee nut‐cracking sites compared with other foraging sites, suggesting that they perceived elevated danger at these sites. Scavenging on remnants of cracked nuts is a hitherto understudied type of foraging behavior that could be widespread in nature and increases the complexity of community ecology in tropical rainforests. By use of camera trap videos it was confirmed that mangabeys scavenge on the nut remnants cracked by chimpanzees and red river hogs. Squirrels and two types of guinea fowl might scavenge on these nut remnants but this could not be seen clearly. Looking at the visitation rate before and after nut cracking events it was found that the possible scavenging species were more present at the nut cracking sites after a nut cracking event took place. It was found that mangabeys have an increase in vigilance behavior at chimpanzee nut cracking sites compared with outside these chimpanzee nut cracking sites, indicating that the mangabeys perceive a higher risk at these nut cracking sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryndan O C M van Pinxteren
- Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Giulia Sirianni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paolo Gratton
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Martijn Egas
- Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Hjalmar Kühl
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Juan Lapuente
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Amelia C Meier
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Karline R L Janmaat
- Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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10
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Luncz LV, Sirianni G, Mundry R, Boesch C. Costly culture: differences in nut-cracking efficiency between wild chimpanzee groups. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Visalberghi E, Sirianni G, Fragaszy D, Boesch C. Percussive tool use by Taï Western chimpanzees and Fazenda Boa Vista bearded capuchin monkeys: a comparison. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140351. [PMID: 26483529 PMCID: PMC4614714 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Percussive tool use holds special interest for scientists concerned with human origins. We summarize the findings from two field sites, Taï and Fazenda Boa Vista, where percussive tool use by chimpanzees and bearded capuchins, respectively, has been extensively investigated. We describe the ecological settings in which nut-cracking occurs and focus on four aspects of nut-cracking that have important cognitive implications, namely selection of tools, tool transport, tool modification and modulation of actions to reach the goal of cracking the nut. We comment on similarities and differences in behaviour and consider whether the observed differences reflect ecological, morphological, social and/or cognitive factors. Both species are sensitive to physical properties of tools, adjust their selection of hammers conditionally to the resistance of the nuts and to transport distance, and modulate the energy of their strikes under some conditions. However, chimpanzees transport hammers more frequently and for longer distances, take into account a higher number of combinations of variables and occasionally intentionally modify tools. A parsimonious interpretation of our findings is that morphological, ecological and social factors account for the observed differences. Confirmation of plausible cognitive differences in nut-cracking requires data not yet available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Visalberghi
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 00197 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Sirianni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dorothy Fragaszy
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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