Chimps and their tools

Could chimps have used tools 4,300 years ago??? Archaeologist Julio Mercader says so. These reasearchers found old tools near West Africa . These are the oldest tools (used by a chimpanzee) ever found! Chimps would use these tools to crack all sorts of nuts, as they still do today. This is amazing becuase the last known tools found was in the 1600's.

Who:

A group of Archaeologists lead by Julio Mercader found the tools, however the chimps were the ones who used them.

What:

The tools date back 4,300 years ago. The archaeologists examained the tools and observed that the stones were the size of cantaloupes with vairious patterns on it (probably from when the chimps cracked their nuts). These stones are too big for our hands but just right for the chimps hands because they are much stronger than ours. The reasearchers are not exactly sure how the chimps learned how to use the tools but they suspected that they picked it up from the local farmers in the area. However, some say that there werent many farmers 4,300 years ago so how could the chimps learn how to use the tools? The hammers found, had many sctraches on it and some starch. The people say that it was probably from the dirt after being underground for so many decades.

Where:

These tools were found in West Africa and along the Ivory Coast.

When:

The tools were used about 4,300 years ago, however they were discovered only a few weeks ago.

Why:

These tools could be the answers to the past. Did the humans learn from the chimps? The human life dates back to seven million years ago and the chimps life dates back to five million years ago, so this means that some human sites could be found at the chimps sites.

My Opinion:

This article has really taught me about how the chimps used tools and it has shown me a lot about the past. This article has also taught me how when you set out in search of something, never give up because you might find what your looking for. I hope that the acheologists are looking for human tools where they found the chimps tools because I would really want to learn more about the stone age.

If you would like to learn more about chimps and their tools please take a look at this site...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/02/12/chimps.with.hammers.ap/index.html