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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, UKchristian.rutz@st-andrews.ac.ukhttps://aviantooluse.org Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, CambridgeMA02138
Gavin R. Hunt
Affiliation:
Unaffiliated. grhunt10@hotmail.com
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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.

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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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