Stone Tools Development Writing Assignment

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Stone Tools Development
For decades, experts have always linked the discovery of stone tools to the lineage of the early man. Archaeologists have argued that human evolution that has taken millions of years can be studied using rocks and tools that were intentionally produced by early members of the human family. However, the recent discovery that capuchins made stone tools that bear a striking resemblance to early human artifacts cast doubts that all the early tools discovered can be linked to the early man.
Experts observe that tools made by monkeys display some level of sophistication that proves similar humanlike traits such as the use of hands and coordination. Artifacts attributed to the early human that were discovered at Lomwkwi site in Kenya and the Gona site in Ethiopia depicted more sophistication and planning showing some level of advanced human cognition. Similarly, artifacts attributed to monkeys indicate some level of resemblance although they depict the “simplest examples of Oldowan technology” (Wong). These striking resemblances between the monkey-made and human-made tools could spark a debate that seeks to identify the indeed who made these tools.
Observable today, monkeys can use little stone-tools that are sharp enough to cut meat and plant materials. Though unintentionally, monkeys are increasingly producing stone tools and artifacts that can be found at some human archeological sites (Wong). The use of these stone tools by monkeys to prepare or dig up their food indicate some level of coordination similar to that of humans. Experts have observed monkeys at Brazil's Serra da Capivara National Park banging rocks together to break them; an activity previously thought to be exclusive to humans (Wong). While these monkeys fail to use these flakes made out of the banging, the activity depicts sophistication and coordination available only to humankind.
Interestingly, the flakes produced by these monkeys bear similarity to those created by humans raising controversy and questions on how to differentiate tools made by monkeys from tools made by the early man. Further, the striking resemblance raises questions as to when human sophisticated their tool making to the currently advanced tools used by humans. According to experts from the University of Oxford, capuchin-made stones depict “distinctive scoop-shaped flaking and sharp edges” that was previously exclusive to human-made artifacts (Wong). Experts further hypothesize that the distinctly monkey-made artifacts made by the current monkeys can be linked to other similarly made stone tools made by e...