The discovery of odd markings on the teeth of Japanese macaques could have implications on our understanding of human evolution, it has emerged.
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, strange marks on the monkey's teeth may challenge existing ideas about how we evolved.
Until the study, it was widely accepted that the marks on human teeth were evidence of our ancestors using tools as they evolved.
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Previous research found 'toothpick' like grooves in ancient human teeth, thought to be the result of tools being placed between teeth to ease pain or removed food.
However, it seems that this assumption may not be accurate, as researchers who conducted the new study found the same wear and tear in Japanese macaques, who of course do not use tools.
Researchers found that the marks on the monkeys' teeth may be from the 'accidental ingestion of sand' and the 'oral processing of marine mollusks'.
These findings could also be applied to pre-historic humans, challenging the existing understanding of our cultural evolution with tools, as per the Independent.
Co-author of the study, Ian Towle, said of the findings 'Up until now, the large scratches in the front teeth of fossil humans have been considered to be caused by a behaviour called ‘stuff and cut’, in which an item such as an animal hide is held between the front teeth and a stone tool is used for slicing'.
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The researcher went on to say that it has long been understood that the 'unusual wear' on our ancestors' teeth 'demonstrates specific types of tool use' among groups of humans.
'However, our research suggests this idea may need reconsidering since we describe identical tooth wear in a group of wild monkeys that do not use tools', Towle continued.
The macaques species have been studied for over 70 years and has not been observed using tools.
They do, however, engage in remarkable dietary practices, such as washing their food in water and eating fish.
The findings raise interesting questions about how we understand our evolution, particularly surrounding our culture with tools.
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And studies like these are essential to helping answer those questions.
As Towle says, 'We are so used to trying to prove that humans are unique, that similarities with other primates are often neglected. Studying living primates today may offer crucial clues that have been overlooked in the past'.
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