PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
The archaeological record offers insights into our evolutionary past by revealing ancient behaviour through stone and fossil remains. Percussive foraging is suggested to be particularly relevant for the emergence of tool-use in our lineage, yet early hominin percussive behaviours remain largely understudied compared to flaked technology. Stone tool-use of extant primates allows the simultaneous investigation of their artefacts and the associated behaviours. This is important for understanding the development of tool surface modification, and crucial for interpreting damage patterns in the archaeological record. Here, we compare the behaviour and the resulting material record across stone tool-using primates. We investigate the relationship of nut-cracking technique and stone tool modification across chimpanzees, capuchins, and long-tailed macaques by conducting standardized field experiments with comparable raw materials. We show that different techniques likely emerged in response to diverse nut hardness, leading to variation in foraging success across species. Our experiments further demonstrate a correlation between techniques and the intensity of visible percussive damage on the tools. Tools used with more precision and efficiency as demonstrated by macaques, show fewer use wear traces. This suggests that some percussive techniques may be less readily identified in the archaeological record.
摘要：
考古记录通过石头和化石遗迹揭示古代行为，为我们的进化历史提供了见解。撞击觅食被认为与我们血统中工具使用的出现特别相关，然而，与片状技术相比，早期的人类撞击行为在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。使用现存的灵长类动物的石头工具可以同时研究它们的人工制品和相关行为。这对于理解工具表面修改的发展很重要，对于解释考古记录中的破坏模式至关重要。这里,我们比较了使用石器的灵长类动物的行为和由此产生的材料记录。我们研究了黑猩猩的坚果裂解技术和石器修饰之间的关系，卷尾猴,和长尾猕猴，用可比的原材料进行标准化的田间试验。我们表明，不同的技术可能会出现，以响应不同的坚果硬度，导致物种间觅食成功的差异。我们的实验进一步证明了技术与工具上可见冲击损伤的强度之间的相关性。如猕猴所证明的那样，工具的使用精度和效率更高，显示更少的使用磨损痕迹。这表明在考古记录中可能不太容易识别某些撞击技术。
