Data collection

To study the three-dimensional technology concept, the UFP uses a range of methods taken from primatology, archaeology, and even biomechanics. In the field, UFP members use camera traps, GoPro cameras, and handheld tablets to record the nut-cracking behaviors as they happen. The UFP members also record the material evidence by tracking hammerstone dimensions and developing photogrammetry models.

To establish baseline information for the primate archaeology research program, we spend much of our time in the field identifying individual capuchins and systematically recording their social interactions, group associations, demographic events, and movement patterns, with a particular focus on tool-use behaviors. In this population, tool use primarily involves cracking macadamia nuts using locally available stones as hammers. 

From a strictly archaeological perspective, we map nut-cracking sites, document the distribution of hammerstones and anvils, and photograph and analyze the hammerstones using analog and digital methods. The combination of primatological and archaeological methods allows me to tackle my main research questions by investigating how individual, social, and ecological factors can influence stone tool-using behaviors in the archaeological record.