Form Of Tool Use Research Articles

Searching for the earliest archaeological record: insights from chimpanzee material landscapes.

The origin of tool use is a central question in human evolutionary studies. Plio-Pleistocene core and flake technologies represent the earliest evidence of tool use in the human lineage. Some suggest this form of tool use is probably pre-dated by a phase of percussive tool use. However, there is currently no evidence for such a record. The archaeological signature of solely percussive behaviours is not as well understood as that associated with cores and flakes. The durable nature of primate percussive stone tools and their by-products provide an opportunity to investigate what such a record looks like. Here, we present a landscape-scale study of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) material culture from the Djouroutou Chimpanzee Project, Taï Forest, Cote d'Ivoire. This study explores the interplay between behavioural and environmental factors in shaping the stone record of nut cracking. Through a survey of nut-cracking sites, the available nut species, and raw materials, we show how resource availability influences the resulting material signature of nut cracking. These results also reveal the diversity of material signatures associated with a purely percussive material record. We gain insight into the range of signatures that may be associated with a pre-core and flake archaeological record, providing new expectations for an earlier record of tool use.

Water scooping: tool use by a wild bonobo (Pan paniscus) at LuiKotale, a case report

Tool use diversity is often considered to differentiate our two closest living relatives: the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (P. paniscus). Chimpanzees appear to have the largest repertoire of tools amongst nonhuman primates, and in this species, many forms of tool use enhance food and water acquisition. In captivity, bonobos seem as adept as chimpanzees in tool use complexity, including in the foraging context. However, in the wild, bonobos have only been observed engaging in habitual tool use in the contexts of comfort, play, self-directed behaviour and communication, whilst no tool-assisted food acquisition has been reported. Whereas captive bonobos use tools for drinking, so far, the only report from the wild populations comes down to four observations of moss sponges used at Lomako. Here, we present the first report of tool use in the form of water scooping by a wild bonobo at LuiKotale. An adult female was observed and videotaped whilst using an emptied Cola chlamydantha pod to scoop and drink water from a stream. We discuss the conditions for such observations and the importance of looking out for rare behaviours and attempt to put the observation into the context of the opportunity versus necessity hypotheses. By adding novel information on tool use, our report contributes to the ongoing efforts to differentiate population-specific traits in the behavioural ecology of the bonobo.

Wild European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) Make and Use Woolen Tools

This study reports the novel manufacture and use of tools by wild European or common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in mainland Orkney, Scotland. On two occasions over a period of ten days, multiple starlings picked off and applied pieces of discarded sheep’s fleece to the area under their wings and tails, in a manner similar to widespread ‘anting’ behavior. The birds’ goal is unknown, but it is likely that they are using the woolen tools for feather maintenance or another form of self-care. These observations reflect a previously unreported form of tool use in European starlings, which was rapid, repeated, and performed by several members of a flock.

Tool use and tooling in ravens (Corvus corax): A review and novel observations

AbstractCorvids are known for their cognitive flexibility, and many have innovated various forms of tool use. Here, we review tool use and tooling in common ravens (Corvus corax) and describe additional observations. In total, they have used tools in 10 submodes and 11 modes. Of these modes, four were observed in captivity only, four in the wild only and three in both contexts. Five of these modes constitute tooling. When they manufactured tools, it was through detachment or subtraction. The purpose of most tool use was apparent, except when they used containers to transport small amounts of food that could be held in their bill and antelingual pouch (estimated to hold at least 16.2 ml). The small number of tool‐using individuals per mode and the lack of detailed descriptions limit further interpretation and generalizability. Nonetheless, ravens are likely customary tool users in three modes and show the capacity for diverse tool use, which should be examined in dedicated future experiments.

Captive great apes tend to innovate simple tool behaviors quickly.

Recent studies have highlighted the important role that individual learning mechanisms and different forms of enhancenment play in the acquisition of novel behaviors by naïve individuals. A considerable subset of these studies has focused on tool innovation by our closest living relatives, the great apes, to better undestand the evolution of technology in our own lineage. To be able to isolate the role that individual learning plays in great ape tool innovation, researchers usually employ what are known as baseline tests. Although these baselines are commonly used in behavioral studies in captivity, the length of these tests in terms of number of trials and duration remains unstandarized across studies. To address this methodological issue, we conducted a literature review of great ape tool innovation studies conducted in zoological institutions and compiled various methodological data including the timing of innovation. Our literature review revealed an early innovation tendency in great apes, which was particularly pronounced when simple forms of tool use were investigated. In the majority of experiments where tool innovation took place, this occurred within the first trial and/or the first hour of testing. We discuss different possible sources of variation in the latency to innovate such as testing setup, species and task. We hope that our literature review helps researchers design more data-informed, resource-efficient experiments on tool innovation in our closest living relatives.

Tool Use Traditions in Nonhuman Primates: The Case of Tufted Capuchin Monkeys

Tool use was once a major defining feature of “human nature”. If the findings about the spontaneous use of tools by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) forced us to rethink traditional views on the “unique and exclusive” character of human technological abilities, the discovery of similar behaviors in a few monkey species – one Old World monkey (Macaca fascicularis), and one genus of New World monkeys (Sapajus spp) – leads us to broader questions, focusing our attention not on phylogenetic proximity, but, rather, on the cognitive, ecological and social conditions and mechanisms fostering the emergence of tool use and behavioral traditions. The use of tools does not imply any particular underlying cognitive mechanisms: In most cases, it involves a single, “species-typical” behavior, which may look quite “hard-wired”. Even among tool-using birds, the development of such abilities seems to rely mostly on individual learning, building on innate predispositions. In the case of nonhuman primates’ toolkits, however, there is growing evidence of behavioral variation that cannot be explained just by genetic differences between populations, nor by different environmental pressures and affordances, suggesting the results of socially biased learning. The comparative approach, by itself, cannot provide hard evidence of behavioral traditions: Developmental studies, as well as field experiments, are helping to unravel the cultural nature of primate tool use. Although human culture (cumulative, symbolic) may depend on special cognitive features, such as “Theory of Mind”, enabling shared intentions, imitation, and purposeful teaching, simpler mechanisms, such as “stimulus enhancement”, can support the establishment of behavioral traditions. Moreover, the lasting changes in the environment produced by some forms of tool use can be seen as instances of “niche construction” optimizing naive observers’ learning opportunities.

Animal behaviour: Incipient tradition in wild chimpanzees.

The adoption of a new form of tool use has been observed to spread along social-network pathways in a chimpanzee community. The finding offers the first direct evidence of cultural diffusion in these animals in the wild.

Tool use and the human mind: From basic to materially mediated operative intentionality

AbstractThis paper explores some of the cognitive-ecological dimensions of various manual forms of tool use occurring among human agents. In particular, it clarifies what such forms reveal about the intentionality of the human mind. Integrating phenomenological, philosophical and anthropological findings and perspectives, I argue that there exists not one but at least three different forms of operative types of intentionality that are associated with three specific forms of manual technical activity. First, there is the direct type of operative intentionality that realizes itself through a human agent’s concrete bodily movements. Second, there is a materially mediated form of operative intentionality, which is required for performing those technical activities where the external tool directly extends the movements of the human body. Third, there is a more complex variety of such materially mediated intentionality, which underpins those forms of tool use where the dynamics of the tool and those of the body significantly diverge. It is suggested that the relation between these three forms of operative intentionality is best conceived in terms of a structural hierarchy.

Manipulation of walnuts to facilitate opening by the great spotted woodpecker (Picoides major): is it tool use?

True tool use has been documented in some bird species, but to our knowledge, it has not been shown in woodpeckers. Here, we investigated the ability of Picoides major to open nuts of Juglans mandshurica by consistently inserting walnuts between tree branches in a specific position that facilitated nut opening. As seen in these birds, we showed that woodpeckers removed 96% of the nuts of J. mandshurica from experimental seed trays and inserted each nut in a precise position that specifically allowed nut cracking. When we inserted nuts in an alternative position, woodpeckers manipulated and repositioned nuts to allow nut opening. In contrast, when we inserted the nuts in positions preferred for nut opening, woodpeckers did not alter their position and instead opened the nuts. We suggest that the origin of this behavior, as in other forms of tool use, likely requires a higher cognitive ability in these birds.

Health consumption as work: The home pregnancy test as a domesticated health tool

A growing array of biomedical goods and services has become central to the North American experience of navigating illness and pursuing good health. Yet despite the utility of consumption as an analytical framework within the social sciences, the selection, purchase, and use of biomedical goods and services has been understudied. By using the home pregnancy test as a case study, we suggest new approaches to thinking about the consumption of these goods and services. We chose the home pregnancy test because it is the best-known example of a mass-produced diagnostic tool used by consumers. We draw on two sources of data for this qualitative analysis: a set of stories submitted between 2003 and 2005 by women and men to an online exhibit mounted by the National Institutes of Health called “A Thin Blue Line: The History of the Pregnancy Test Kit,” which we analysed between 2006 and 2007; and web sampling conducted in 2009 and 2010 of personal web and video logs of women and men who have posted stories and opinions about their experiences with contemporary home pregnancy testing products. We adapt the term “domestication” from Science and Technology Studies scholarship to describe the movement of diagnostic devices into homes for use by consumers. Specifically, we propose that the consumption of domesticated biomedical devices, goods, and services should be theorized as work performed by consumers, in two senses: as a form of tool use that allows non-experts to produce diagnostic knowledge about their own bodies and health; and as the ongoing biopolitical work that is expected of citizens to produce healthy bodies. Our paper draws attention to these understudied phenomena, while suggesting new approaches to theorizing the social and cultural elements of goods and services for health.

A Tool for Every Job: Assessing the Need for a Universal Definition of Tool Use

Once considered only a human behavior, reports of tool use by a variety of animals have accumulated. Likewise, various definitions of tool use have also amassed. Although some researchers argue that understanding the evolutionary drivers of tool use is more important than identifying and describing these behaviors, the central issue of defining what constitutes tool use has not been fully addressed. Here we analyze prominent definitions of tool use and review the application of these definitions in scientific and educational literature. We demonstrate that many behaviors recently described as tool use do not meet criteria for prevalent definitions, while other neglected behaviors may constitute a form of tool use. These examples show how the use of inconsistent definitions of tool use in research can result in different conclusions from the same observations. Our aim is to demonstrate that a universally acceptable definition of tool use based on traditional, evolutionary, and operational understanding of behavior is needed. The rationale is that this review will stimulate the consistent and explicit use of specific terminology in tool use research. This would help define specific examples of each natural observation from a common measuring stick, allowing better comparative studies and classification of these unique behaviors.//

Do chimpanzees use weight to select hammer tools?

The extent to which tool-using animals take into account relevant task parameters is poorly understood. Nut cracking is one of the most complex forms of tool use, the choice of an adequate hammer being a critical aspect in success. Several properties make a hammer suitable for nut cracking, with weight being a key factor in determining the impact of a strike; in general, the greater the weight the fewer strikes required. This study experimentally investigated whether chimpanzees are able to encode the relevance of weight as a property of hammers to crack open nuts. By presenting chimpanzees with three hammers that differed solely in weight, we assessed their ability to relate the weight of the different tools with their effectiveness and thus select the most effective one(s). Our results show that chimpanzees use weight alone in selecting tools to crack open nuts and that experience clearly affects the subjects’ attentiveness to the tool properties that are relevant for the task at hand. Chimpanzees can encode the requirements that a nut-cracking tool should meet (in terms of weight) to be effective.

How tufted capuchin monkeys (cebus apellaspp) and common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) align objects to surfaces: insights into spatial reasoning and implications for tool use

This report addresses phylogenetic variation in a spatial skill that underlies tool use: aligning objects to a feature of a surface. Fragaszy and Cummins-Sebree's [Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews 4:282-306, 2005] model of relational spatial reasoning and Skill Development and Perception-Action theories guided the design of the study. We examined how capuchins and chimpanzees place stick objects of varying shapes into matching grooves on a flat surface. Although most individuals aligned the long axis of the object with the matching groove more often than expected by chance, all typically did so with poor precision. Some individuals managed to align a second feature, and only one (a capuchin monkey) achieved above-chance success at aligning three features with matching grooves. Our findings suggest that capuchins and chimpanzees do not reliably align objects along even one axis, and that neither species can reliably or easily master object placement tasks that require managing two or more spatial relations concurrently. Moreover, they did not systematically vary their behavior in a manner that would aid discovery of the affordances of the stick-surface combination beyond sliding the stick along the surface (which may have provided haptic information about the location of the groove). These limitations have profound consequences for the forms of tool use we can expect these individuals to master.

Kea, Nestor notabilis, produce dynamic relationships between objects in a second-order tool use task

Studies on advanced forms of tool use in birds have mainly been concentrated on corvids. In this study, captive kea, a neophilic New Zealand parrot species, produced different orders of spatial object relationships in a tube-lifting/object-inserting paradigm. Hence, we found that kea, which are neither natural tool users nor nest builders, could readily solve a second-order tool use task. They also learned to produce highly complicated means–means–end sequences in a short period of time.

Observational learning of tool use in children: Investigating cultural spread through diffusion chains and learning mechanisms through ghost displays

In the first of two experiments, we demonstrate the spread of a novel form of tool use across 20 “cultural generations” of child-to-child transmission. An experimentally seeded technique spread with 100% fidelity along twice as many “generations” as has been investigated in recent exploratory “diffusion” experiments of this type. This contrasted with only a single child discovering the technique spontaneously in a comparable group tested individually without any model. This study accordingly documents children’s social learning of tool use on a new, population-level scale that characterizes real-world cultural phenomena. In a second experiment, underlying social learning processes were investigated with a focus on the contrast between imitation (defined as copying actions) and emulation (defined as learning from the results of actions only). In two different “ghost” conditions, children were presented with the task used in the first experiment but now operated without sight of an agent performing the task, thereby presenting only the information used in emulation. Children in ghost conditions were less successful than those who had watched a model in action and showed variable matching to what they had seen. These findings suggest the importance of observational learning of complex tool use through imitation rather than only through emulation. Results of the two experiments are compared with those of similar experiments conducted previously with chimpanzees and are discussed in relation to the wider perspective of human culture and the influence of task complexity on social learning.

Leaf-tool use for drinking water by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): acquisition patterns and handedness

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are known to make and use a variety of tools, activities which require them to employ their hands in a skilful manner. The learning process underlying the acquisition of tool-using skills, and the degree of laterality evident in both immature and mature performers are investigated here focusing on the use of leaves for drinking water by members of the Bossou chimpanzee community in Guinea, West Africa. In addition, comparisons are drawn between the present findings and our previous data on the cracking of oil-palm nuts (Elaeis guineensis) using stone tools by members of the same community. The use of leaves for drinking water emerges approximately 2 years earlier than nut cracking, at around the age of 1.5 years, although the manufacture of leaf tools begins only at 3.5 years of age. In addition, in clear contrast with nut cracking, the majority of chimpanzees are ambidextrous in their use of leaves, with only certain individuals showing a bias for one hand. We discuss possible explanations for the earlier emergence and increased ambidextrousness that characterises leaf-tool use in comparison with other forms of tool use by wild chimpanzees. In summary, our results provide the first detailed description of the acquisition process underlying leaf-tool use along with the accompanying patterns of handedness, while also being the first to provide comparisons of the development of different forms of tool use within the same wild chimpanzee population.

First record of tool use by wild populations of the yellow‐breasted capuchin monkey (Cebus xanthosternos) and new records for the bearded capuchin (Cebus libidinosus)

Reports on use of stones as hammers and anvils to open hard nuts by wild capuchin monkeys are scarce and limited to Cebus libidinosus. Here, we report for the first time data on tool use-stones as hammer and anvils to open nuts-in wild C. xanthosternos and a description of new tool using sites for C. libidinosus. Our records were made by visiting anvil sites and by information obtained from local residents. We surveyed three different biomes: Caatinga (dry forest and thorn scrub), Cerrado (Brazilian bush savannah), and Atlantic forest (wet forest), all records of tool use were from Caatinga or transitional areas between habitats. The behavior is suggested to be routinely performed and widespread among several populations. The fruits of six plant species in different localities were opened with hammer stones by C. xanthosternos. Hammer stones were of similar weigh as those described in other studies of C. libidinosus. Conditions found in Caatinga, such as a more frequent use of the ground by the monkeys and/or food scarcity, may play an important role in the acquisition of nut-cracking behavior. The absence of more reports of nut cracking and other forms of tool use in other species of wild Cebus is likely to result from a lack of surveys in very dry and food-limited habitats or intrinsic characteristics of other Cebus species.

Capuchin monkey tool use: Overview and implications

Nutcracking capuchins are mentioned in reports dating as far back as the sixteenth century,1, 2 as well as in Brazilian folklore.3 However, it was barely a decade ago that primatologists “discovered” the spontaneous use of stones to crack nuts in a semi-free ranging group of tufted capuchin monkeys. Since then, we have found several more capuchin populations in savanna-like environments which employ this form of tool use.5–7 The evidence so far only weakly supports genetically based behavioral differences between populations and does not suggest that dietary pressures in poor environments are proximate determinants of the likelihood of tool use. Instead, tool use within these capuchin populations seems to be a behavioral tradition that is socially learned and is primarily associated with more terrestrial habits. However, differences in the diversity of “tool kits” between populations remain to be understood.

Do capuchin monkeys use weight to select hammer tools?

The extent to which tool-using animals take into account the properties of the tool is little explored. The use of percussors to crack open encapsulated fruit is a complex form of tool use, the choice of an adequate tool being a critical aspect in success. Several properties (e.g., material, resistance, friability, shape and weight) affect the suitability of an object to open a hard-shelled nut, with weight being amongst the most important factors. In general, heavier tools require fewer strikes to crack open a nut.

New tool use by wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii)

Two forms of tool use by wild Sumatran orangutans are reported from the Agusan Monitoring Station, a new research site in Indonesia. One form, a branch "hook" used in locomotion, has not been reported previously in wild orangutans. The second form, a leaf "pad" used to protect the hands and feet from thorns while feeding, shares similarities in form and function with a tool type used by orangutans at Ketambe, a nearby research site. Both instances of tool use occurred in areas of disturbance, and appear to be spontaneous inventions under novel conditions, although habitual use of the tool in other ecological contexts is plausible. A summary of the distribution of tool use types in wild orangutans is presented.