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The technical reasoning hypothesis does not rule out the potential key roles of imitation and working memory for CTC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Alba Motes-Rodrigo Open the ORCID record for Alba Motes-Rodrigo [Opens in a new window] ,
Eva Reindl  and
Elisa Bandini
Alba Motes-Rodrigo
Affiliation:
Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72070Tübingen, Germany. albamotes7@gmail.comhttps://sites.google.com/view/alba-motes-rodrigo/homeelisa-bandini@hotmail.ithttps://sites.google.com/view/elisabandini/home
Eva Reindl
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, KY16 9JPSt Andrews, UK. eva.reindl@live.dehttp://www.evareindl.com/
Elisa Bandini
Affiliation:
Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72070Tübingen, Germany. albamotes7@gmail.comhttps://sites.google.com/view/alba-motes-rodrigo/homeelisa-bandini@hotmail.ithttps://sites.google.com/view/elisabandini/home
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Abstract

To support their claim for technical reasoning skills rather than imitation as the key for cumulative technological culture (CTC), Osiurak and Reynaud argue that chimpanzees can imitate mechanical actions, but do not have CTC. They also state that an increase in working memory in human evolution could not have been a key driver of CTC. We discuss why we disagree with these claims.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e173
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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