Monkeys have been using stone tools for thousands of years.
Humans are often thought of as the smartest animals, and one of the perks of our top-notch brains (with a little help from our opposable thumbs) is supposedly that we’re the only species that can use tools. That’s what we used to think, anyway. More recently, research has shown that our tool-use ability is not as unique as we once believed. Take, for instance, the capuchin monkey. Research published in 2019 showed that these pint-sized creatures, native to Central and South America — and sometimes known as “organ grinder” monkeys — have been using stone tools to process food for more than 3,000 years.
Archaeologists analyzing a site in Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park discovered that the monkeys had used rounded quartzite stones to smash open cashew husks against tree roots or stone “anvils.” After digging through layers of sediment in four phases of excavation, the scientists found stone tools that had been used by the capuchins dating back around 3,000 years ago. The researchers also found signs that the monkeys’ tool use had changed over time — the creatures first used smaller stone tools, and then around 560 years ago, switched to larger ones, which may have meant they were eating harder foods, according to National Geographic. This evolution could have occurred due to different groups of capuchins moving into the area, or a change in the local plants. Either way, the study marked the first time such an evolution in tool use had been seen in a non-human species. Scientists suspect that further exploration of this site, and others like it, could give an unprecedented look at humanity’s own tool-use evolution, which began millions of years ago. Furthermore, primates — the taxonomic order to which humans also belong — aren’t the only ones gifted with brains capable of using tools. Elephants, dolphins, and a variety of birds are only a few of the other species that use tools — whether sticks, rocks, or tree limbs — to survive and thrive on planet Earth.
When it comes to primitive tools, instruments don’t usually count — that is, unless you’re an orangutan. In 2009, scientists revealed that orangutans use folded leaves to make sounds that may trick predators into thinking they’re bigger than they actually are. These musical noises, called “kiss squeaks,” were even used by wild orangutans who sensed the human researchers as a threat. This discovery is the first known non-human instrument and non-human tool used for communication. It’s also not even the extent of the orangutans’ impressive, tool-making abilities. A 2018 study revealed that orangutans were better at making tools than human children up to age eight. This growing body of scholarship only shows that complex intelligence is not a trait exclusively enjoyed by Homo sapiens.
