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Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools
Background: Despite substantial research on early hominin lithic technologies, the learning mechanisms underlying flake manufacture and use are contested. To draw phylogenetic inferences on the potential cognitive processes underlying the acquisition of both of these abilities in early hominins, we...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
F1000 Research Limited
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612464/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35253007 http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.13186.2 |
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author | Bandini, Elisa Motes-Rodrigo, Alba Archer, William Minchin, Tanya Axelsen, Helene Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana McPherron, Shannon P. Tennie, Claudio |
author_facet | Bandini, Elisa Motes-Rodrigo, Alba Archer, William Minchin, Tanya Axelsen, Helene Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana McPherron, Shannon P. Tennie, Claudio |
author_sort | Bandini, Elisa |
collection | PubMed |
description | Background: Despite substantial research on early hominin lithic technologies, the learning mechanisms underlying flake manufacture and use are contested. To draw phylogenetic inferences on the potential cognitive processes underlying the acquisition of both of these abilities in early hominins, we investigated if and how one of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes), could learn to make and use flakes. Methods: Across several experimental conditions, we tested eleven task-naïve chimpanzees (unenculturated n=8, unknown status n=3) from two independent populations for their abilities to spontaneously make and subsequently use flakes as well as to use flakes made by a human experimenter. Results: Despite the fact that the chimpanzees seemed to understand the requirements of the task, were sufficiently motivated and had ample opportunities to develop the target behaviours, none of the chimpanzees tested made or used flakes in any of the experimental conditions. Conclusions: These results differ from all previous ape flaking experiments, which found flake manufacture and use in bonobos and one orangutan. However, these earlier studies tested human-enculturated apes and provided test subjects with flake making and using demonstrations. The contrast between these earlier positive findings and our negative findings (despite using a much larger sample size) suggests that enculturation and/or demonstrations may be necessary for chimpanzees to acquire these abilities. The data obtained in this study are consistent with the hypothesis that flake manufacture and use might have evolved in the hominin lineage after the split between Homo and Pan 7 million years ago, a scenario further supported by the initial lack of flaked stone tools in the archaeological record after this split. We discuss possible evolutionary scenarios for flake manufacture and use in both non-hominin and hominin lineages. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7612464 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | F1000 Research Limited |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-76124642022-03-03 Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools Bandini, Elisa Motes-Rodrigo, Alba Archer, William Minchin, Tanya Axelsen, Helene Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana McPherron, Shannon P. Tennie, Claudio Open Res Eur Research Article Background: Despite substantial research on early hominin lithic technologies, the learning mechanisms underlying flake manufacture and use are contested. To draw phylogenetic inferences on the potential cognitive processes underlying the acquisition of both of these abilities in early hominins, we investigated if and how one of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes), could learn to make and use flakes. Methods: Across several experimental conditions, we tested eleven task-naïve chimpanzees (unenculturated n=8, unknown status n=3) from two independent populations for their abilities to spontaneously make and subsequently use flakes as well as to use flakes made by a human experimenter. Results: Despite the fact that the chimpanzees seemed to understand the requirements of the task, were sufficiently motivated and had ample opportunities to develop the target behaviours, none of the chimpanzees tested made or used flakes in any of the experimental conditions. Conclusions: These results differ from all previous ape flaking experiments, which found flake manufacture and use in bonobos and one orangutan. However, these earlier studies tested human-enculturated apes and provided test subjects with flake making and using demonstrations. The contrast between these earlier positive findings and our negative findings (despite using a much larger sample size) suggests that enculturation and/or demonstrations may be necessary for chimpanzees to acquire these abilities. The data obtained in this study are consistent with the hypothesis that flake manufacture and use might have evolved in the hominin lineage after the split between Homo and Pan 7 million years ago, a scenario further supported by the initial lack of flaked stone tools in the archaeological record after this split. We discuss possible evolutionary scenarios for flake manufacture and use in both non-hominin and hominin lineages. F1000 Research Limited 2021-07-15 /pmc/articles/PMC7612464/ /pubmed/35253007 http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.13186.2 Text en Copyright: © 2021 Bandini E et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Bandini, Elisa Motes-Rodrigo, Alba Archer, William Minchin, Tanya Axelsen, Helene Hernandez-Aguilar, Raquel Adriana McPherron, Shannon P. Tennie, Claudio Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title | Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title_full | Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title_fullStr | Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title_full_unstemmed | Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title_short | Naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
title_sort | naïve, unenculturated chimpanzees fail to make and use flaked stone tools |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612464/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35253007 http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.13186.2 |
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