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New Caledonian crows afford invaluable comparative insights into human cumulative technological culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Christian Rutz Open the ORCID record for Christian Rutz [Opens in a new window]  and
Gavin R. Hunt
Christian Rutz
Affiliation:
Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St AndrewsKY16 9TH, [email protected]://aviantooluse.org Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, CambridgeMA02138
Gavin R. Hunt
Affiliation:
Unaffiliated. [email protected]
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Abstract

The New Caledonian crow may be the only non-primate species exhibiting cumulative technological culture. Its foraging tools show clear signs of diversification and progressive refinement, and it seems likely that at least some tool-related information is passed across generations via social learning. Here, we explain how these remarkable birds can help us uncover the basic biological processes driving technological progress.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e177
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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