Chimpanzees 'hunt using spears'

Chimps sharpened the spears with their teeth
Chimpanzees in Senegal have been observed making and using wooden spears to hunt other primates, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6387611.stm

Holy Shit!

yea, I read about that. Very interesting.

Chimpanzees 'hunt using spears'

Chimps sharpened the spears with their teeth
Chimpanzees in Senegal have been observed making and using wooden spears to hunt other primates, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6387611.stm

Holy Shit!
Guerilla, what did we tell you about teaching your friends and family the tricks of Man?

Interestingly it is juveniles and females who most often use spears. This suggests that early use of weapons in humans was first by females and the young as well. Given the disparity in size between the sexes in Australopithecus, this makes sense, although it will be difficult to prove.

size in sex doesn't explain it as the spears were used to injure hiding animals. The article says its because learning happens most readily between the two groups while the older males stick to what they know.

size in sex doesn't explain it as the spears were used to injure hiding animals. The article says its because learning happens most readily between the two groups while the older males stick to what they know.

Those older males were once juveniles, and unless this was an example of newly emerging behavior they had a chance to learn it. The most likely explanation is that the females and juveniles are smaller and weaker, and thus more likely to turn to tool use to offset that disadvantage.

If it is a newly emergent behavior, it may well have been learned by observing humans.