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The crow in the room: New Caledonian crows offer insight into the necessary and sufficient conditions for cumulative cultural evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Alex H. Taylor Open the ORCID record for Alex H. Taylor [Opens in a new window]  and
Sarah Jelbert
Alex H. Taylor
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland1010, New Zealand. Alexander.taylor@auckland.ac.nzhttps://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/animal-minds.html
Sarah Jelbert
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1TU, UK. Sarah.jelbert@bristol.ac.ukhttp://www.bris.ac.uk/expsych/people/sarah-a-jelbert/overview.html
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Abstract

New Caledonian (NC) crow populations have developed complex tools that show suggestive evidence of cumulative change. These tool designs, therefore, appear to be the product of cumulative technological culture (CTC). We suggest that tool-using NC crows offer highly useful data for current debates over the necessary and sufficient conditions for the emergence of CTC.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e178
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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