In search of the last common ancestor: new findings on wild chimpanzees

McGrew, William C.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0067

Cited by 105 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…For example, several studies reported the use of hammers and anvils in order to crack nuts in capuchin monkeys [55,56] and chimpanzees [57,58]. These activities may require complex behavioural patterns, such as the selection of an efficient hammer, its transportation to the location of the anvil, and the choice of the most appropriate motor pattern (trajectory, force, etc.).…”

Section: Conclusion and Evolutionary Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual and social learning processes involved in the acquisition and generalization of tool use in macaques

Macellini

Maranesi

Bonini

et al. 2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Macaques can efficiently use several tools, but their capacity to discriminate the relevant physical features of a tool and the social factors contributing to their acquisition are still poorly explored. In a series of studies, we investigated macaques' ability to generalize the use of a stick as a tool to new objects having different physical features (study 1), or to new contexts, requiring them to adapt the previously learned motor strategy (study 2). We then assessed whether the observation of a skilled model might facilitate tool-use learning by naive observer monkeys (study 3). Results of study 1 and study 2 showed that monkeys trained to use a tool generalize this ability to tools of different shape and length, and learn to adapt their motor strategy to a new task. Study 3 demonstrated that observing a skilled model increases the observers' manipulations of a stick, thus facilitating the individual discovery of the relevant properties of this object as a tool. These findings support the view that in macaques, the motor system can be modified through tool use and that it has a limited capacity to adjust the learnt motor skills to a new context. Social factors, although important to facilitate the interaction with tools, are not crucial for tool-use learning.

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Section: Conclusion and Evolutionary Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual and social learning processes involved in the acquisition and generalization of tool use in macaques

Macellini

Maranesi

Bonini

et al. 2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Insight into language evolution can be gained from the communicative systems of nonhuman primates (Slocombe, Waller, & Liebal, 2011), especially those of chimpanzees, our closest living relative (McGrew, 2010). Although not a 'missing link,' chimpanzees display a number of features considered characteristic of early human populations, such as fission-fusion social organisation and life at the forestsavannah interface (van Lawick-Goodall, 1968).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A structure-based repertoire of manual gestures in wild chimpanzees: statistical analyses of a graded communication system

Roberts

Vick

Roberts

et al. 2012

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Great ape gestural communication is considered important in understanding the evolution of human language as these share important features, namely, flexible and intentional signal use. Although gestural repertoires have been compiled for captive and wild primates, reports are largely qualitative. We quantify the morphological structure and variation of gestural signals identified in the repertoire of a community of wild chimpanzees. Gestures were classified on the basis of 29 morphological features, such as trajectory and orientation during the preparatory and stroke phases of a gesture. Hierarchical cluster and discriminant function analyses identified 30 morphologically distinct manual gesture types; the majority was subsequently correctly classified using a cross-validation technique, with incorrect classifications for rare gesture types only. Comparisons of this statistically determined repertoire with previous repertoires did not identify systematic variation between captive and wild chimpanzees. Moreover, consensus was not greater within studies of the same populations, highlighting the importance of systematic and well-documented inventories. Our morphologically based analyses indicate that manual gestures are best considered as graded rather than discrete communication signals, similar to some vocalisation systems. We discuss these findings in light of current theories of human language evolution.

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]). This paper explores whether this technology was used for plant processing by hunter-gatherer societies of the Southern Levant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of plant food processing in the Levant: insights from use-wear analysis of Early Epipalaeolithic ground stone tools

Dubreuil

Nadel

2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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In recent years, the study of percussive, pounding and grinding tools has provided new insights into human evolution, more particularly regarding the development of technology enabling the processing and exploitation of plant resources. Some of these studies focus on early evidence for flour production, an activity frequently perceived as an important step in the evolution of plant exploitation. The present paper investigates plant food preparation in mobile hunter-gatherer societies from the Southern Levant. The analysis consists of a use-wear study of 18 tools recovered from Ohalo II, a 23 000-year-old site in Israel showing an exceptional level of preservation. Our sample includes a slab previously interpreted as a lower implement used for producing flour, based on the presence of cereal starch residues. The use-wear data we have obtained provide crucial information about the function of this and other percussive tools at Ohalo II, as well as on investment in tool manufacture, discard strategies and evidence for plant processing in the Late Pleistocene. The use-wear analysis indicates that the production of flour was a sporadic activity at Ohalo II, predating by thousands of years the onset of routine processing of plant foods.

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In search of the last common ancestor: new findings on wild chimpanzees

Cited by 105 publications

References 75 publications

Individual and social learning processes involved in the acquisition and generalization of tool use in macaques

Individual and social learning processes involved in the acquisition and generalization of tool use in macaques

A structure-based repertoire of manual gestures in wild chimpanzees: statistical analyses of a graded communication system

The development of plant food processing in the Levant: insights from use-wear analysis of Early Epipalaeolithic ground stone tools

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