Gc. Westergaard et Sj. Suomi, THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF DIGGING TOOLS BY MONKEYS - A NONHUMAN PRIMATE MODEL OF A HOMINID SUBSISTENCE ACTIVITY, Journal of anthropological research, 51(1), 1995, pp. 1-8
This research examined the production and use of digging tools by tuft
ed capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We provided groups of subjects wit
h sticks and containers that held peanuts buried in hard-packed earth.
Nine of the ten subjects used their fingers to loosen earth and their
hands to scoop away soil. Four of these subjects used sticks as diggi
ng tools, and three of them produced tools for this purpose Similariti
es were noted between the digging behavior of capuchins and that of hu
mans in modern hunter-gatherer societies. We hypothesize that Home hab
ilis could have produced digging tools analogous to those produced by
monkeys in this investigation and that the use of such implements woul
d have provided evolutionary advantages in harsh prehistoric environme
nts.