Extant primates, especially chimpanzees, are often used as models for pre-modern hominin
(henceforth: hominin) behaviour, anatomy and cognition. In particular, as hominin behaviour …

The development of tool innovation presents a paradox. How do humans have such diverse
and complex technology, ranging from smartphones to aircraft, and yet young children find …

The zone of latent solutions (ZLS) hypothesis provides an alternative approach to explaining
cultural patterns in primates and many other animals. According to the ZLS hypothesis, non …

Cumulative culture has been claimed a hallmark of human evolution. Yet, the uniqueness of
human culture is heavily debated. The zone of latent solutions hypothesis states that only …

Cultural evolutionary theory conceptualises culture as an information-transmission system
whose dynamics take on evolutionary properties. Within this framework, however, innovation …

Humans possess a perhaps unique type of culture among primates called cumulative
culture. In this type of culture, behavioural forms cumulate changes over time, which …

It has been claimed that a unique feature of human culture is that it accumulates beneficial
modifications over time. On the basis of a couple of methodological considerations, we here …

Traditionally, infants have learned how to interact with objects in their environment through
direct observations of adults and peers. In recent decades these models have been …

Nut‐cracking with hammer tools (henceforth: nut‐cracking) has been argued to be one of the
most complex tool‐use behaviors observed in nonhuman animals. So far, only …

This chapter critically discusses the earliest tools and cultures of hominins—the species
most closely related to humans. It starts with an inferred organic tool age that would have …