ABSTRACT
R ecognition is growing that valuable comparative data on human evolution may be gained through an examination of the archaeological remains left by nonhuman species, including the closely related and technology-profi cient chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and extending to more distant members of the human family tree (Haslam 2012; Haslam et al. 2009). Because much of the justifi cation for extending archaeology to nonhuman primates comes from plant processing and plant-based technologies of species such as chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys (Mercader et al. 2007; Mercader, Panger, and Boesch 2002; Ottoni and Izar 2008; Visalberghi et al. 2007), it is therefore necessary to explore the extent to which the activities of such animals can be detected and interpreted in the archaeobotanical record. Th is perspective is important not just for understanding the intraspecies chronological development of nonhuman primate plant use but also because it bears on discussions of factors such as cooking and nonlithic tool use in human evolution. Because Africa was the primary centre for the evolution of both humanity and our closest primate relatives, African archaeobotanists have a central role to play in exploring primate archaeobotany.
