just seeing the term ‘ant dipping tool’ make some think it’s some branch possibly used by chimps, perhaps even the famed ones in the Gombe that Goodall studied.
Squinting shows the word ‘chimpanzees’ is indeed used in the text though I can’t quite make out the location. :p It’s really no more and no less significant than a few bits of wood and iron manipulated a little more to make a finished “garden hoe”.
Close! It’s actually a SPEAR used by chimpanzees to SPEAR sleeping bush babies (small, big-eyed primates) in tree holes!! SPEARED BUSH BABIES, people!! Holy cow; chimps are brutal hunters!!
Ah, I assume you’re cruising the new Hall of Human Origins in the National Museum of Natural History. I was entranced by the skulls and could hardly pay attention to anything else.
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.
Ideas and opinions expressed on this site are those of the authors and commenters alone. They do not necessarily represent the views of the American Geophysical Union.
Harry Potter’s magic wand?
just seeing the term ‘ant dipping tool’ make some think it’s some branch possibly used by chimps, perhaps even the famed ones in the Gombe that Goodall studied.
Squinting shows the word ‘chimpanzees’ is indeed used in the text though I can’t quite make out the location. :p It’s really no more and no less significant than a few bits of wood and iron manipulated a little more to make a finished “garden hoe”.
Close! It’s actually a SPEAR used by chimpanzees to SPEAR sleeping bush babies (small, big-eyed primates) in tree holes!! SPEARED BUSH BABIES, people!! Holy cow; chimps are brutal hunters!!
Ah, I assume you’re cruising the new Hall of Human Origins in the National Museum of Natural History. I was entranced by the skulls and could hardly pay attention to anything else.
You guessed it, Tony!