The Leakey Foundation

Archives for tool use

01.20.20

Monkeys Smashing Nuts Hint at How Human Tool Use Evolved

Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites. Her observations called into question homo sapiens‘ very place in the world. Since then scientists’ knowledge of animal tool use has expanded exponentially.

08.06.19

From the Field: Stephanie Musgrave, Goualougo Triangle, Republic of the Congo

From the Field

Leakey Foundation grantee Stephanie Musgrave has been in the field with the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project in the Republic of the Congo where she studies how the chimpanzees there make and use tools to gather termites and other resources such as ants, honey, seeds, and marrow.

07.11.18

First Report of Habitual Stone Tool Use by Cebus Monkeys

Journal Article

White-faced capuchin monkeys in Panama’s Coiba National Park habitually use hammer-and-anvil stones to break hermit crab shells, snail shells, coconuts and other food items, according to research conducted by Leakey Foundation grantees. This is the first report of habitual stone-tool use by Cebus monkeys.

07.10.18

Grantee Spotlight: Stephanie Musgrave

Grantee Spotlight

Stephanie Musgrave, Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, was awarded a Leakey Foundation Research Grant during our spring 2016 cycle for her project entitled "Ontogeny of complex tool use among Goualougo Triangle chimpanzees."

06.17.15

Journal Article: There Is More than One Way to Crack an Oyster: Identifying Variation in Burmese Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis aurea) Stone-Tool Use

Journal Article

Amanda Tan is a PhD candidate at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant in the spring of 2013. Here is a summary of her team’s recent paper in PLOS ONE. Researchers Catalog Variation in Stone-Tool Use by Burmese Long-Tailed Macaques Burmese long-tailed macaques living on islands in southern Thailand use 17 different action patterns… more »