The subsistence technology of capuchins

Abstract

Via Oswalt's system of classification, I compare the tool-kits of wild and captive capuchins with those of Tanzanian chimpanzees and Tasmanian aborigines. The results indicate that capuchins have tool-kits that are smaller, and have lower ratios of artifacts to naturefacts, than those of Tanzanian chimpanzees and Tasmanian aborigines. Accordingly, Oswalt's system can be used productively to assess the relative technological skills of monkeys versus those of apes and humans. © 1994 Plenum Publishing Corporation.