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The lithic technology of Cebus apella and its implications for brain evolution and the preconditions of language in Homo habilis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Gregory Charles Westergaard
Gregory Charles Westergaard
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; National Institutes of Health Animal Center, Poolesville, MD 20837. [email protected]
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Abstract

Wilkins & Wakefield (1995) provide a thoughtful contribution to our understanding of language origins. In this commentary I attempt to define the relationship between object-manipulation and primate brain function further by reviewing research on aimed throwing and the production and use of stone tools by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebtis apella). I propose that examining the relation between brain function and object-manipulation in Cebus will provide insight into the preconditions of language in our hominid ancestors.

Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 792 - 793
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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