How the use of the chimpanzee tool provides information on early human behavior
By Jane Goodall revolutionary discovery In 1960 that chimpanzees in the stream National Park in Tanzania use tools to fish out of their mounds, further searches have discovered that they use a variety of different tools to satisfy specific purposes.
It has been discovered that the chimpanzees use longer sticks to probe colonies of ants, rocks such as hammers to open fruits and large sticks to greet and launch as weapons to remove intruders.
In March, researchers from the University of Oxford study in the same region Published a study In the online magazine Iscience which shows that chimpanzees also apply engineering skills by choosing materials with specific mechanical properties to be used as tools.
The mounds of termite, for example, involve tunnels that bended in different directions. When the researchers examined which plants the chimpanzees selected all those available, they were the most flexible twigs that were modeled in probes to negotiate tunnels and capture more food.
And the strictest plants nearby? They have never been chosen by the chimpanzees, suggesting that they have a sort of intuitive understanding of the properties of the materials to help them create the best tools for work.
In terms of engineering, chimpanzees select materials for resistance and flexibility depending on the application. The same principle is used when designing structures such as a bridge, which must be strong enough to transport the load, but light and quite flexible to absorb vibrations from traffic and wind.
The creation of tools requires thought and decision -making process. It is also a skill that is handed down through generations, while young chimpanzees look and imitate their parents to learn how to use tools.
The use of the instrument was found throughout the animal kingdom, by crows, the lartre, octopus and as you will hear In this episode of Quirks & Quarkseven fish.
Humans were certainly relegated as the only tools of tools.
When it comes to our human ancestors, most of the tools we find are made of stone, with the oldest found in Kenya dating back 3.3 million years. These first tools, possibly used by Man at hand (which means “practical man”) were made simply by hitting two rocks together to obtain a required shape, as a pointed edge to be used to cut.
Over time, the stone tools have become more complex, still using two stones, one to become the instrument, the other a hammer to cut a edge of the instrument to become a scraper or hit small sharp bows for cutting.
But it raises the question of how many other tools made our ancestors who were not made of stone. Have they applied the same engineering skills as the fashion tools from wood? Unfortunately, Wood does not keep fossil documentation well. THE older wooden tools Found in Zambia are much younger, made 476,000 years ago Homo sapiens.
However, there is A tool modeled by Bone It was dated 1.5 million years ago, suggesting that our distant ancestors used other materials.
Take a look in the kitchen drawer in all the different tools and materials from which they are made. You may have a stainless steel carving knife next to a plastic spatula. Perhaps Man at hand He transported an equally varied kit of tools made with a variety of materials, each suitable for a different purpose.
We may never find the answer to this question, but perhaps chimpanzees can provide some intuitions.
