A Simian View of the Oldowan

Abstract

Abstract Findings from field primatology show that three living primate genera—ape (Pan), Old World monkey (Macaca), and New World monkey (Sapajus)—use elementary lithic technology to obtain and process food in nature. All three taxa use stone tools, producing enduring artifacts with distinctive archaeological signatures. In a comparison we show that each taxon has its own suite of tools, both organic and inorganic. All use percussion, but there are differences in the number and type of other tools in each taxon. Our assessment also allows for point-by-point comparisons with the early toolkits of extinct hominins, and here we compare to the Oldowan. This broader comparison shows that modeling the evolutionary origins of human material culture continues to advance. Wynn’s “ape adaptive grade” must now be expanded to a more inclusive “simian adaptive grade,” as monkeys too show convergent features with percussive stone technology.

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