Monkeys are seen making stone flakes so humans are 'not unique' after all
Thursday, October 20, 2016 - 09:41
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Researchers have observed wild-bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil deliberately break stones, unintentionally creating flakes that share many of the characteristics of those produced by early Stone Age hominins. The difference is that the capuchins' flakes are not intentional tools for cutting and scraping, but seem to be the by-product of hammering or 'percussive behavior' that the monkeys engage in to extract minerals or lichen from the stones.