objects (Kortlandt and Kooij 1963). Beatty (1951) observed a chimpanzee 

 pick up a rock and break open a dried palm nut. Merfield (1956) watched 

 a group of chimpanzees poking sticks into an underground bees' nest and 

 then licking off the honey. Kortlandt and Kooij (1963) reported the use 

 of leaves as "medicated pads" by a chimpanzee and of small sticks and fruit 

 as "toilet" aids by another chimpanzee. 



Goodall saw chimpanzees use natural objects as tools on many occasions. 

 For instance, she saw chimpanzees use sticks to feed on different species of 

 ants (1964): the nests were opened, a stick was thrust in, left for a moment, 

 and then withdrawn with the ant-mass on the end. The delicate morsel was 

 licked off with the lips. Termite "fishing," however, provided her with one 

 of her crucial observations. In those months (November to January, ap- 

 proximately) when the termites extended their passages to the surface of 

 the nest, chimpanzees plucked stalks and small twigs, pushed them into 

 openings on the surface of the termitarium, withdrew the tools, and picked 

 off the insects with their lips. They would move away from the termite 

 heap to pluck grass stalks, carry back one or even several, and settle down 

 for an hour or two's peaceful "fishing." Sometimes tools were carefully pre- 

 pared: leaves were stripped from stems or twigs with the hand or lips, and 

 long strips were sometimes pulled from a piece of grass that was too wide. 

 As the straw became bent at the end, the chimpanzee would break off the 

 bent pieces until the tool was too short for further use. We have here evi- 

 dence not only of the use of natural objects but also of their modification 

 to render them more suitable for the purpose to which they are put (Goodall 

 1964). 



Another form of rudimentary tool-fabrication consisted in the use of 

 leaves as drinking tools. Chimpanzees would drink water from natural 

 bowls until the level was too low for the water to be reached with the lips. 

 Thereafter, leaves were stripped from twigs and chewed briefly, giving a 

 crumpled surface. Then the leaf-mass, held between the index and middle 

 fingers, was pushed into the bowl, withdrawn, and the water sucked out of it. 

 The process was repeated until the bowl was empty or until the chimpanzee 

 lost interest (Goodall 1964). 



The cultural Primates 



By modifying natural objects, the chimpanzee may be said to have 

 reached the first crude beginnings of tool-making. Goodall has written: 



119 K 



