The use of stone tools is something that separated our ancestors from the chimps. Until now that is! Kanzi is a chimp that has been trained for years to make stone tools. Their efforts are quite something to behold. Keep an eye out for some bipedalism in this video too (and a bit of banana eating, because no primate video would be complete without that)!

Despite the years of training, Kanzi still isn’t as good as our ancestors were at making stone tools. Even the early, ape-like Australopiths were better than he is. This is because Kanzi has a relatively short thumb and immobile wrist (both adaptations to allow him to support his weight on his hands as he knuckle walks). This prevents him from using the same precision grip as our ancestors, making it difficult for him to control his blows and produce a high quality tool.

Nonetheless, Kanzi does a passable job. So it would seem the chimp revolution is still a little way off. But when they do take over, don’t say you didn’t see it coming.