Monkeys in Brazil have entered the Stone Age 700 years ago

Man is not the only species on Earth came into the Stone Age. For some time we know that other primates, including chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques, also used stone tools.

Tools found in Brazil made no doubt of the hands of Capuchin were dated to about 700 years. This means that when he started Itil Renaissance, capuchins are hewn small chisels and hammers of different stones in South America. Although, in all likelihood, they have entered the Stone Age long before this moment.

As indicated by the study, published in Current Biology , Primate archeology is a relatively new field. Michael Haslam, lead author of the study and project manager for archeology primate PrimArch at Oxford University, is one of the pioneers in the field. Earlier he had found evidence of the use of stone tools from macaques in Thailand, but the new discovery is even more exciting.

So far archaeological data on the use of tools by animals other than humans, come from a study of three habitats of chimpanzees in Côte d'Ivoire, Africa, where the age of the instruments is set at between 4300 and 1300 years. "

"Now we have new evidence that suggests monkeys and other primates outside Africa also use cord instruments for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years."

Brazilian Capuchin monkeys are undoubtedly clever. Scientists have long observed how they use stones as hammers and anvils to open hard, covered with bark foods like nuts of cashews, while small watch what adults do and learn from observation. Making tools is clever. Anvils that capuchins use at least four times heavier than hammers and hammers themselves - four times heavier than the surrounding rocks.

Anvils are most often made of layers of flat limestone rocks as hammers are forged pointed angular quartzite.

Every time the monkey's ate nuts, it leaves stone tools in hiding from discarded shells, which over time is covered with sand and soil. After Capuchin wait to leave the place, scientists go to these places and dig in the ground to see if they find other tools.

Using the furrows on the instruments made by punching and grinding, researchers found 69 tool to a depth of 0, 7 m.

The carbon dating showed that the oldest tools are 600-700 years old, which means that at least 100 generations Capuchin used stone tools. Scientists say it is a matter of time to find even older tools.

Source: www.euroscientist.com , www.pixabay.com