Chimps hunting with spears

[Verbose]

have they been doing this forever?

No way to know, except perhaps... "Chimp archaeology"!

And yes, that already exists. Some biologists working in the Ivory Coast have found a place where chimps go to open their nuts (weeel...), that shows evidence of having been used for 4300 years.

http://primatology.org/2007/02/13/c...one-tools-made-by-chimps-from-4300-years-ago/

 

[ShannonCT]

In a number of cases, chimps also trimmed the ends of the branch and stripped it of bark. Some chimps also sharpened the tip of the tool with their teeth.

I am a bit skeptical about the whole sharpening bit. It sounds like the observors might have been projecting human intentions onto the behavior of the chimps. If that is the case, I would hardly call the stick a spear.

 

[Left]

Thats the spear.

 

[bhsup]

ahh, gotcha

wait, would hunt and fight be considered two different things?

for instance, a club may be a circumstancial weapon that happens to be nearby while a spear would be a premeditated weapon.

just a thought.

All I can speak of is the show I watched, and it was definitely warfare. They actually sent out different types of patrols. They had recon patrols to find the 'enemy' chimps, one where the objective was to capture and brutalize a lone chimp away from his comrades, and then a big raiding party. It was actually quite frightening how human-like their warfare was.

Made me decide that if I ever hear of a chimp figure out how to load and fire a rifle, I'd advocate the extermination of all non-human primates before we ended up with a Planet Of The Apes situation on our hands.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

All I can speak of is the show I watched, and it was definitely warfare. They actually sent out different types of patrols. They had recon patrols to find the 'enemy' chimps, one where the objective was to capture and brutalize a lone chimp away from his comrades, and then a big raiding party. It was actually quite frightening how human-like their warfare was.

Made me decide that if I ever hear of a chimp figure out how to load and fire a rifle, I'd advocate the extermination of all non-human primates before we ended up with a Planet Of The Apes situation on our hands.

so this is less a parallel to man inventing fire than man inventing the lighter?

 

[ShannonCT]

Thats the spear.

I could break off a branch from a tree and have it look like that by chance. It does mean I fashioned a spear.

 

[bhsup]

so this is less a parallel to man inventing fire than man inventing the lighter?

Maybe the match.

 

[Xanikk999]

Wow, i did not know chimps fashioned tools until now.

 

[MobBoss]

Thats the spear.

The spear is a red x? Doesnt seem very effective to me.

 

[Xanikk999]

The spear is a red x? Doesnt seem very effective to me.

Well what do you expect mobboss? Do you think chimps can make spearheads or sophisticated weapons?

 

[Kozmos]

Well ya soon they'll be making iron weapons, and the before you know it Planet of the Apes.

 

[MobBoss]

Well ya soon they'll be making iron weapons, and the before you know it Planet of the Apes.

Which brings me to one of my favorite lines in all of movie history: "Get your hands off me you dam dirty ape!!!"

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

As long as no one calls them monkeys . . .

Seriously, though, they have been observed fighting wars - real wars, just like our, if on a smaller scale. So "human nature" is not the sole domain of H. sapiens.

 

[Shadylookin]

I think we need to launch a preemptive strike now for the good of our species

 

[woody60707]

I was actually referring to the fact that humans have a lot of trouble accepting that animals are more like them than they wished, and it's not until recently that researchers are "discovering" that animals use tools, langage, etc.

I think your reaching with the language part. Even when teaching bonobos how to sign, they never understood the grammar with it.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Don't worry. The chimps will eventually develop "spear control."

They may even develop an "assault spear ban" and only "hunting spears" or "sporting spears" will be allowed.

Of course all the "spear nuts" will be in an uproar.

 

[TheBladeRoden]

This is how it begins

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Well, heck, we had a good run. Time for someone else to take over.

 

[Yuri2356]

ahh, gotcha

wait, would hunt and fight be considered two different things?

for instance, a club may be a circumstancial weapon that happens to be nearby while a spear would be a premeditated weapon.

just a thought.

An interesting point.

Recall that in human evolution, one of the biggest early steps was walking upright so that our hands would be free to carry things around. While most of our close relatives also use tools from time to time, it's quite inconvinient for them to carry the tool with them. So, they tend to just pick up what they need on-site, then discard it once they're done.

If these chimps are indeed keeping an individual spear with them as they go from place to place, it could prove a most advantageous behavior.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

But it would also impede their walking and thus be a pain in the butt.