Three thousand years of wild capuchin stone tool use

Author(s)

Falotico, Tiago ^{[1, 2]} ; Proffitt, Tomos ^[3] ; Ottoni, Eduardo B. ^[1] ; Staff, Richard A. ^[4] ; Haslam, Michael

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Psychol, Dept Expt Psychol, Butanta - Brazil

^[2] Neotrop Primates Res Grp, Butanta - Brazil

^[3] UCL, Inst Archaeol, London - England

^[4] Scottish Univ Environm Res Ctr, East Kilbride - Scotland

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION; v. 3, n. 7, p. 1034-1038, JUL 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

The human archaeological record changes over time. Finding such change in other animals requires similar evidence, namely, a long-term sequence of material culture. Here, we apply archaeological excavation, dating and analytical techniques to a wild capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus) site in Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil. We identify monkey stone tools between 2,400 and 3,000 years old and, on the basis of metric and damage patterns, demonstrate that capuchin food processing changed between similar to 2,400 and 300 years ago, and between similar to 100 years ago and the present day. We present the first example of long-term tool-use variation outside of the human lineage, and discuss possible mechanisms of extended behavioural change. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/04818-0 - Tool use by wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus): ecology, socially biased learning and behavioral traditions
• Grantee: Eduardo Benedicto Ottoni
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/05219-0 - Tool use by capuchin monkeys: learning and tradition
• Grantee: Tiago Falótico
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral