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....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolutionary anthropology 2008-07, Vol.17 (4), p.171-178
Main Authors: Ottoni, Eduardo B., Izar, Patrícia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
behavioral traditions
Brazil
Ecology
Evolutionary anthropology
Habitats
Physical anthropology
Primate behaviour
primate cognition
Primatology
social information transfer
socially biased learning
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1060-1538
1520-6505
DOI:10.1002/evan.20185