Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id CAA03510 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 29 May 2002 02:55:39 +0100 Message-Id: <5.0.2.1.0.20020528211154.00b1bd80@mail.clarityconnect.com> X-Sender: rrecchia@mail.clarityconnect.com (Unverified) X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2 Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 21:37:26 -0400 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk From: Ray Recchia <rrecchia@mail.clarityconnect.com> Subject: Re: Report: chimps used simple tools 5 million years ago Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Ok here it is. From 'The Ape and the Sushi Master'. by Frans de Waal.
Before I post I'll be fair though. It is not clear that the nuts being
talked about in the 'Science' article are the same as the very difficult to
crack oil-palm nuts talked about by de Waal. I was able to get an abstract
from the 'Science' web site and it indicated that 'The data unearthed show
that chimpanzees transported stones from outcrops and soils to focal
points, where they used them as hammers to process foodstuff. The repeated
use of activity areas led to refuse accumulation and site formation.'
You wrote:
> > My recollection was that nut cracking with rocks was a very difficult
> > task to perform and had to be practiced many times before it could be
> > done right.
>
>Nut cracking is a difficult task. Some nuts are very hard,
>especially the nuts atop necks in homo sapiens....
>
>Brute force may or may not be a tool. Is that practice, or just
>repetition?
>
>But, we do know these chimps don't have a ballet named after
>this usage....
>
>- Wade
>
>
p. 227 Ape and the Sushi Master
'To bring these tendencies to bear on the issue of culture, we need only
look at how chimpanzees learn to crack oil-palm nuts. According to
field-workers, the expertise of their animals far exceeds that of any human
who tries it for the first time. It takes many years of practice to place
one of the hardest nuts in the world on a level surface, find a good-sized
hammer stone, and hit the nut with the right speed to crack it. It is the
most complex tool-use in the field, involving both hands, two tools, and
exact coordination.
Think about the steps that would be required for this to happen with every
chimpanzee. On their own they would have to understand that there is food
inside the nut, which isn't all that obvious. Maybe if they found one that
was broken already. Then they would have to get two stones together and
practice repeatedly before producing any positive results. How frequently
do you suppose chimpanzees figure this out on their own?
Also interesting was that three years before they could acquire sufficient
arm strength to crack the nuts and receive a reward, juvenile chimps were
seen imitating their elders at this task.
Ray Recchia
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