title: Nut Cracking Tools Used by Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Their Comparison with Early Stone Age Percussive Artefacts from Olduvai Gorge.
abstract: We present the results of a series of experiments at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan, in which captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) performed several nut cracking sessions using raw materials from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. We examined captive chimpanzee pounding tools using a combination of technological analysis, use-wear distribution, and micro-wear analysis. Our results show specific patterns of use-wear distribution across the active surfaces of pounding tools, which reveal some similarities with traces on archaeological percussive objects from the Early Stone Age, and are consistent with traces on other experimental pounding tools used by modern humans. The approach used in this study may help to stablish a framework with which to interpret archaeological assemblages and improve understanding of use-wear formation processes on pounding tools used by chimpanzees. This study represents the first direct comparison of chimpanzee pounding tools and archaeological material, and thus may contribute to a better understanding of hominin percussive activities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adrián
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arroyo
authors.affiliation: Kumamoto Sanctuary, Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 990 Ohtao, Misumi, Uki, Kumamoto, 869-201, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.affiliation: Kyoto University, Institute for Advanced Studies, Kyoto, Japan.|Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Aichi, Japan.|Japan Monkey Centre, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuzawa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de la Torre
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D001106:Archaeology; D016477:Artifacts; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000502:physiology*; D013636:Tanzania; D053001:Tool Use Behavior / Q000502:physiology*