Chimpanzees and monkeys have entered the Stone Age
In the rainforests of west Africa, the woodlands of Brazil and the beaches of Thailand, archaeologists have unearthed some truly remarkable stone tools.
It's not the workmanship that makes them special. If anything, a casual observer might struggle to even identify them as ancient tools. It's not their antiquity that's exceptional either: they're only about the same age as the Egyptian pyramids.
What makes these tools noteworthy is that the hands that held them weren't human.
These stone tools were wielded by chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques. The sites where they have been unearthed are the basis of a brand new field of science: primate archaeology.
This is pretty cool, but if you wait around long enough, you get 'Planet of The Apes.' This doesn't end well.
- By Colin Barras
In the rainforests of west Africa, the woodlands of Brazil and the beaches of Thailand, archaeologists have unearthed some truly remarkable stone tools.
It's not the workmanship that makes them special. If anything, a casual observer might struggle to even identify them as ancient tools. It's not their antiquity that's exceptional either: they're only about the same age as the Egyptian pyramids.
What makes these tools noteworthy is that the hands that held them weren't human.
These stone tools were wielded by chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques. The sites where they have been unearthed are the basis of a brand new field of science: primate archaeology.
This is pretty cool, but if you wait around long enough, you get 'Planet of The Apes.' This doesn't end well.
