Science / Medicine : Chimp Learns to Make Tools

The ability to make and use tools has long been thought to be a key feature that distinguishes humans from other animals. New results, however, suggest that chimpanzees can probably learn to use tools as easily as early humans did.

Anthropologists Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick of Indiana University studied Kanzi, a well-studied chimpanzee at the Yerkes Primate Research Center in Georgia.

In Kanzi’s presence, they used a rock to chip a fragment off another stone, producing a simple cutting device that they used to cut a cord, opening a box that contained a tasty treat. Kanzi quickly learned how to do it himself.

Kanzi also came up with his own technological innovation. When the experiment was tried indoors in a room that had a hard tile floor, the chimp discovered that all he had to do was throw the large rock on the floor. The rock would shatter and at least one piece would have a sharp edge.