Pictured: Panamanian capuchin monkey using stones
As one Nobel laureate put it: The only thing that can threaten the survival of mankind is the virus! Panamanian monkeys, which seem to have entered the Stone Age, are unlikely to pose a threat to us, but other species are not so lucky.
With the fire of a series of primate rise movies such as "Rise of the Apes", more and more people are setting their sights on primates.
Pictured: Screenshot of the Rise of the Apes movie
Speculation about other species that could potentially replace humans has long been a hot topic of conversation, and we were proud of the idea that biologists were the only widely used tool species by biologists decades ago.
However, it was soon punched in the face, and the use of tools was indeed an important factor in the rapid growth of our species, but being able to use tools was definitely not our patent, and many mammals, birds, fish, and even insects would get tools from their surroundings.
And these Groups of Panamanian monkeys that entered the Stone Age, although it is impossible to replace us, they are indeed very valuable for research!
Pictured: A chimpanzee who has been using stones
What happened to the monkeys that entered the Stone Age?
The researchers found that a group of white-faced capuchin monkeys in Panama had begun using stone tools to crush nuts and shellfish, making them the fourth primate to crush nuts and shellfish besides humans.
The other three are macaques in Thailand and chimpanzees in West Africa, as well as another group of capuchin monkeys found in South America that may have used stone tools for more than 700 years.
Reports of the use of stone tools by white-faced capuchin monkeys in Panama date back to 2004, though it wasn't until March 2017 that researchers placed cameras on three islands to capture the monkeys' behavior.
The video shows monkeys lifting stones above their heads and then smashing them on nuts, crabs, snails and other foods, crushing hard shells to reveal delicious food.
Monkeys use stone tools almost every day, and even often save stones for reuse; alternatively, they take a bunch of almonds or shellfish to a stone tool site on the coast to "process" food.
This group of capuchin monkeys lives on a small island off the coast of Panama and is part of Coiba National Park, which consists of three islands and has capuchin monkeys on all three islands.
Pictured: The stones they like to use
Interestingly, however, only monkeys on the island named Jicaron use tools, and only males from specific areas of the island do.
Individual monkeys move between groups, so in theory this innovation should spread, but it doesn't, which is a mystery.
Why are monkeys able to use tools?
Researchers believe that entering the Stone Age may be an accidental factor, rather than the expected trajectory of primate evolution, that is, entering the Stone Age does not mean that it can continue to evolve into the Bronze or Iron Age, and it is purely accidental that human technology is so developed.
Pictured: A Thai macaque monkey smashing shellfish with a stone
Because of limited food options, tools can increase a species' chances of survival, and when one of the smarter individuals in the population starts using the tool, other individuals mimic it.
The reason why this group of monkeys can use stone tools, rather than other monkey groups, has a lot to do with their living environment.
On the one hand, the island's resources are limited, so it is necessary to find new ways to get food. Two of the world's most tool-using animals, the Thai macaque and the New Caledonian crow, live on the island.
On that island, white-faced capuchins are top predators, and they have no potential predators, so they can strike stones at will to make a huge movement without worrying about being spotted by predators.
Pictured: A crow using a tool
In addition, they are omnivores like humans, so they have not evolved physiological characteristics suitable for certain foods (such as strong jaws that bite nuts, etc.), and they can only get a variety of foods through tools.
On top of that, capuchin monkeys are fast learners, able to master new foraging and social behaviors by observing other members of their species.
At last
In fact, the study of the use of tools by Panamanian monkeys is very necessary, because it allows us to understand how and why our ancestors began to enter the Stone Age more than 2 million years ago.
Ecological balance is an interesting subject, when the viability of a species in the food chain increases, then it is the species at the bottom of the food chain that suffers.
The study found that the use of tools by Thai macaques destabilized local shellfish populations, as the monkeys enjoyed smashing shellfish with stones.
Although the use of these monkey tools necessarily upsets some balance, it is completely impossible to use tools as an accidental factor to develop a level of technology that threatens human beings.