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Abstract

The origin of tool use is a central question in human evolutionary studies.
Plio-Pleistocene core and flake technologies represent the earliest evidence
of tool use in the human lineage. Some suggest this form of tool use is
probably pre-dated by a phase of percussive tool use. However, there is
currently no evidence for such a record. The archaeological signature of
solely percussive behaviours is not as well understood as that associated
with cores and flakes. The durable nature of primate percussive stone
tools and their by-products provide an opportunity to investigate what
such a record looks like. Here, we present a landscape-scale study of the
chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) material culture from the Djouroutou
Chimpanzee Project, Taï Forest, Cote d’Ivoire. This study explores the
interplay between behavioural and environmental factors in shaping the
stone record of nut cracking. Through a survey of nut-cracking sites, the
available nut species, and raw materials, we show how resource availability
influences the resulting material signature of nut cracking. These results
also reveal the diversity of material signatures associated with a purely
percussive material record. We gain insight into the range of signatures
that may be associated with a pre-core and flake archaeological record,
providing new expectations for an earlier record of tool use.