Scientists on 3 continents now have evidence: Some chimps have entered the Stone Age.

They're not as far behind us as we thought.

 Eric March
08.21.15

Chimpanzees may be even smarter than we thought they were.

Photo by Matt King/Getty Images.

According to a fascinating report from Collin Barras of the BBC, archeologists in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, have been digging up crude stone tools that date back thousands of years — tools that were fashioned by non-human primates.

Which means something kind of extraordinary (emphasis mine):

"The tools are crude. A chimpanzee or monkey stone hammer is hardly a work of art to rival the beauty of an ancient human hand axe. But that's not the point. These primates have developed a culture that makes routine use of a stone-based technology. That means they have entered the Stone Age."

That's right: We now how pretty solid evidence to suggest that at least some chimps are now firmly in the Stone Age.

For reference, here are a few of the things humans did during the Stone Age:

Learned to control fire.

And then learned to tiptoe away slowly when it got ... a little out of hand. Photo by Cameron Strandberg/Flickr.

Domesticated the dog.

We made this from a wolf. Photo by kitty.green66/Flickr.

Started making pottery.

And selling it at our craft stores in Mendocino. Photo by Nambassa Trust and Peter Terry/Wikimedia Commons.

Invented canoes.

Forever ruining family vacations. Photo via Thinkstock.

And while Chimpanzees aren't close to doing any of those things...

At least as far as we know.


Though, honestly, what would you do if you saw this? I don't even know. Photo via Thinkstock.

It's possible these creatures are a lot more like us than most of us give them credit for. And who knows where they might be in the next few thousand years?

...it might be time to reassess how we treat our primate cousins.

Photo by Aris Messinis/Getty Images.

Many countries like New Zealand and the U.K. have banned experiments on chimpanzees and other apes, and some others, like Spain, have gone as far as to grant them limited human rights.

Here in the U.S. we haven't gotten quite so far, but calls for change are growing. A lawsuit pending in New York courts alleges that chimpanzees deserve full personhood and the protections that accompany it.

Even if we're not willing to go quite that far just yet, the more empathy and kindness we can extend to chimps and other apes, the better.

Otherwise, we might be in for a rude awakening sooner than we think.

GIF from "Planet of the Apes" by Twentieth Century Fox/Via Tech Noir.

environment animal rights animals
Most Shared

The 12 most badass action films with powerful female leads


Hollywood is finally moving closer to equality. The past few years have seen a growing number of films starring, written by and directed by women. There's still a lot of progress yet to be made, of course. But there's one area where women have been kicking butt and taking names for decades: action films. Ironically, action films are stereotyped as the launching pad of the manliest of manly men: Schwarzenegger, The Rock, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and so on. But some of the biggest action hits, both critically and commercially, are led by women.

If you're looking to expand your home video library for the holidays or just searching for a great holiday playlist while taking out some healthy aggression, here are 12 of our all-time favorite films featuring strong women front and center.

Keep Reading Show less
female action movies action movies best movies star wars mad max aliens james cameron wonder woman marvel dc comics
Culture

Beyoncé revealed about what she's learned from her miscarriages in a powerful new interview

One in five pregnancies end in miscarriage. It's a sad and heartbreaking experience, but there still is a lot to learn from going through something so tragic. Beyoncé recently shared what she learned from her miscarriages in an "ask me anything" published in the January 2020 issue of Elle Magazine.

A fan asked Beyoncé if she was disappointed she didn't win awards for Lemonade and Homecoming. Beyoncé said her miscarriages helped put it in perspective. "I began to search for deeper meaning when life began to teach me lessons I didn't know I needed. Success looks different to me now. I learned that all pain and loss is in fact a gift," she said in Elle Magazine.

Keep Reading Show less
parenting miscarriage beyonce
popular

Lizzo responded to the criticism over her thong dress with a message of self love

Even though 68% of women in America where size 14 or above, plus sized women tend to draw more heat for the outfits that they wear, especially if those outfits are even remotely racy. Earlier this week, Lizzo was spotted at a LA Lakers game wearing the dress heard round the internet. Dubbed the "thong dress," Lizzo's t-shirt dress was straightforward in the front, but the back featured cutouts featuring her thong and fishnet stockings.

During the game, Lizzo twerked when the Laker Girls danced to her song "Juice," giving the crowd a full view of her ensemble.

Keep Reading Show less
popular

For the first time in history, the winners of top four beauty pageants are black women

The Miss America pageant was started in 1921, but women of color were barred from participating until 1940. It took another 30 years for the first black woman to participate in the pageant in 1970. In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to win Miss America. Now, the winners of all four major beauty pageants are all black women.

Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe, making this the first time in history that Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss Universe are all black women. Tunzi is the first black woman to win Miss Universe since 2011, when Leila Lopes took home the crown.


Keep Reading Show less