How tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) and humans (Homo sapiens) handle a jointed tool.

ABSTRACT: The embodied theory of tooling predicts that when using a grasped object as a tool, individuals accommodate their actions to manage the altered degrees of freedom in the body-plus-object system. We tested predictions from this theory by studying how 3 tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) and 6 humans (Homo sapiens) used a hoe to retrieve a token. The hoe's handle was rigid, had 2 segments with 1 planar joint, or had 3 segments with 2 (orthogonal) planar joints. When jointed, rotating the handle could render it rigid. The monkeys used more actions to retrieve the token when the handle had 1 joint than when it had no joints or 2 joints. They did not use exploratory actions frequently nor in a directed manner in any condition. Although they sometimes rotated the handle of the hoe, they did

SUBMITTER: Fragaszy DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8632068 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature