For a long time, it was believed that handling stone tools was something specific to humans and hominins. However, new studies indicate that there are animals that entered stone Age. By this we mean that other species have also evolved this ability in their evolutionary processes.
Primates in the Stone Age
New studies indicate that other primates were able to evolve stone tools in the past. In these cases, their use was a kind of Behavior From animals, something similar to what people were like at other times.
Including them, studies also show that the tools developed by these primates were, in some way, identical to those developed by humans. For example, today a group of chimpanzees is known to use a pointed stone as a hammer to crack nuts, then if to feed.
According to a 2007 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesIvory Coast chimpanzees have been handling rocks for 4,300 years! In fact, this “Stone Age” of chimpanzees dates back to a moment before the first farming villages appeared in this region.
Other primate species have also evolved similar activities, such as the capuchin monkey and the long-tailed monkey. All of these species have been able to evolve their own stone-based tools to carry out their daily functions, such as feeding and protecting themselves.
Stone age otters
Another animal seems to be entering its own stone age now. These are sea otters, as scientists have observed them with stone objects that served as tools to help them with their food. In this way, the researchers are poised to investigate the transformation that is taking place in the ecosystem of these animals.
According to a study published in Scientific Reports in 2019, researchers in California recorded otters striking exposed mussels on rocks. It is even possible to find marks on stones similar to those produced by this movement in other areas, where there are otter communities.
