The other toolmakers
Excavated stone tools left behind by monkeys reveal some of the origins of technological advances. Archaeological methods now go beyond the study of the human past.
The tide is rising fast, but the monkeys don't seem to mind. Some bicker, others loll on the rocks and quietly munch on an oyster, still others enjoy being gently scratched. The younger ones have fun jumping off the branch of a tree into the warm, clear sea water. Like all animals that make their home along this stretch of Thailand's coast, they live in harmony with the daily rhythm of the tides.
Me, on the other hand, I'm quite worried about the rising water. On this warm December day in 2013, I crouch on the beach next to a neatly dug square hole and reach down as low as I can to pull up another shovelful of damp sand. The hole is only half a meter wide, but it took me hours to dig it after the night's tide receded. A single careless movement - and everything collapses. So hectic would be counterproductive.
This is an archaeological dig, and it looks exactly like you would imagine it: buckets, sieves, string, spirit levels, collection bags and measuring tapes are scattered everywhere. But the ancient objects that lured me to the small island of Piak Nam Yai in Laem Son National Park are not typical archaeological finds. I'm not looking for coins or ceramics, nor for the remains of a former settlement or a long-gone human culture. I'm much more concerned with the past traces of the monkey culture that cannot be overlooked further up on the beach.
I'm a primate archaeologist, at least temporarily…
