Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology
The earliest hominin archaeological sites preserve a record of stone tools used for cutting and pounding. Traditionally, sharp-edged flakes were seen as the primary means by which our earliest ancestors interacted with the world. The importance of pounding tools is increasingly apparent. In some cas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220826 |
| _version_ | 1797455675270365184 |
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| author | Tomos Proffitt Jonathan. S. Reeves Soiret Serge Pacome Lydia. V. Luncz |
| author_facet | Tomos Proffitt Jonathan. S. Reeves Soiret Serge Pacome Lydia. V. Luncz |
| author_sort | Tomos Proffitt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The earliest hominin archaeological sites preserve a record of stone tools used for cutting and pounding. Traditionally, sharp-edged flakes were seen as the primary means by which our earliest ancestors interacted with the world. The importance of pounding tools is increasingly apparent. In some cases, they have been compared with stone hammers and anvils used by chimpanzees for nut-cracking. However, there has been little focus on providing a robust descriptive and quantitative characterization of chimpanzee stone tools, allowing for meaningful comparisons between chimpanzee groups and with archaeological artefacts. Here we apply a primate archaeological approach to characterize the range of chimpanzee nut-cracking stone tools from Djouroutou in the Taï National Park. By combining a techno-typological analysis, and two- and three-dimensional measures of damage, we identify clear differences in the location and extent of damage between nut-cracking hammerstones and anvils used at Djouroutou and when compared with other wild chimpanzee populations. Furthermore, we discuss these results in relation to interpretations of Plio-Pleistocene percussive technology. We highlight potential difficulties in identifying the underlying function of percussive artefacts based on morphological or techno-typological attributes alone. The material record from Djouroutou represents an important new datum of chimpanzee regional and material culture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:57:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba2df91443ae4eaeb236bb366945f247 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:57:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba2df91443ae4eaeb236bb366945f2472023-11-24T17:27:17ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032022-09-019910.1098/rsos.220826Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technologyTomos Proffitt0Jonathan. S. Reeves1Soiret Serge Pacome2Lydia. V. Luncz3Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyTechnological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyLaboratoire de Zoologie et de Biologie Animale, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d'Ivoire, West AfricaTechnological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyThe earliest hominin archaeological sites preserve a record of stone tools used for cutting and pounding. Traditionally, sharp-edged flakes were seen as the primary means by which our earliest ancestors interacted with the world. The importance of pounding tools is increasingly apparent. In some cases, they have been compared with stone hammers and anvils used by chimpanzees for nut-cracking. However, there has been little focus on providing a robust descriptive and quantitative characterization of chimpanzee stone tools, allowing for meaningful comparisons between chimpanzee groups and with archaeological artefacts. Here we apply a primate archaeological approach to characterize the range of chimpanzee nut-cracking stone tools from Djouroutou in the Taï National Park. By combining a techno-typological analysis, and two- and three-dimensional measures of damage, we identify clear differences in the location and extent of damage between nut-cracking hammerstones and anvils used at Djouroutou and when compared with other wild chimpanzee populations. Furthermore, we discuss these results in relation to interpretations of Plio-Pleistocene percussive technology. We highlight potential difficulties in identifying the underlying function of percussive artefacts based on morphological or techno-typological attributes alone. The material record from Djouroutou represents an important new datum of chimpanzee regional and material culture.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220826primate archaeologynut-crackingstone toolspercussive technologyPalaeolithicarchaeology |
| spellingShingle | Tomos Proffitt Jonathan. S. Reeves Soiret Serge Pacome Lydia. V. Luncz Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology Royal Society Open Science primate archaeology nut-cracking stone tools percussive technology Palaeolithic archaeology |
| title | Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| title_full | Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| title_fullStr | Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| title_short | Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| title_sort | identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology |
| topic | primate archaeology nut-cracking stone tools percussive technology Palaeolithic archaeology |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220826 |
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