Wild monkeys throw curve at stone-tool making’s origins
Unlike early hominids, capuchins don’t use sharp-edged rocks to dig or cut
IN FOR A POUND A capuchin monkey in Brazil uses a handheld stone to hammer an embedded rock. Researchers say these wild primates unintentionally detach pieces of rock shaped like basic hominid stone tools, raising questions about how toolmaking evolved.
Michael Haslam/Primate Archaeology Group