Dr Lydia V. Luncz
Group leader
Lise Meitner Group 'Technological Primates'
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (0) 341 3550 225
e-mail:
lydia_luncz@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research interests
My research lies at the interface of primatology and archaeology. I am using archaeological methods to compare the development of technologies in wild primate species, including bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil, long-tailed macaques in Thailand and Western chimpanzees in Ivory Coast, as well as early hominin artefacts in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. By studying non-human primates and ancestral humans, I seek to answer key questions about our cultural evolution. My work includes natural observations of primates in the wild, field experiments and excavations at sites of primates and early hominins. This comparative approach builds a novel framework to further investigate the evolution of technology in humans, our ancestors and non-human primates alike. Primate artefacts can be useful as a model for the behaviours of early hominin. The material record of these behaviours remain largely invisible without comparative analogues.
Since May 2020 I lead the Technological Primates Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. My research lab uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate tool behaviour and the resulting material record across past and present technological primates.
Publications
Proffitt, T., Pacome, S. S., Reeves, J. S., Wittig, R. M., & Luncz, L. V. (2024). The archaeological visibility of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) nut-cracking. Journal of Human Evolution, 195: 103582. |
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Crockford, C., Arandjelovic, M., Deschner, T., Gone Bi, Z. B., Herbinger, I., Kalan, A., Kühl, H., Leendertz, F. H., Luncz, L. V., Normand, E., & Wittig, R. M. (2024). Christophe Boesch (1951–2024): Primatology pioneer with a long-term vision for research and conservation. International Journal of Primatology, 45(4), 721-725. |
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Arandjelovic, M., Stephens, C. R., Dieguez, P., Maldonado, N., Bocksberger, G., Després‐Einspenner, M., Debetencourt, B., Estienne, V. L., Kalan, A. K., McCarthy, M., Granjon, A.-C., Städele, V., Harder, B., Hacker, L., Landsmann, A., Lynn, L. K., Pfund, H., Ročkaiová, Z., Sigler, K., Widness, J., Wilken, H., Buzharevski, A., Goffe, A. S., Havercamp, K., Luncz, L. V., Sirianni, G., Wessling, E. G., Wittig, R. M., Boesch, C., & Kühl, H. S. (2024). Highly precise community science annotations of video camera‐trapped fauna in challenging environments (advance online). Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. |
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Westra, E., Fitzpatrick, S., Brosnan, S. F., Gruber, T., Hobaiter, C., Hopper, L. M., Kelly, D., Krupenye, C., Luncz, L. V., Theriault, J., & Andrews, K. (2024). In search of animal normativity: A framework for studying social norms in non‐human animals. Biological Reviews, 99(3), 1058-1074. |
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Muhammad, R., Kaikaew, T., Panjan, S., Meesawat, S., Thabthimthong, W., Payungporn, S., Apipattarachaiwong, J., Kanthaswamy, S., Hamada, Y., Luncz, L. V., & Malaivijitnond, S. (2024). Influence of COVID-19 on the emergence of stone-tool use behavior in a population of common long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis) in Thailand. American Journal of Primatology, 86(2): e23580. |
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Luncz, L. V., Slania, N. E., Almeida-Warren, K., Carvalho, S., Falótico, T., Malaivijitnond, S., Arroyo, A., de la Torre, I., & Proffitt, T. (2024). Tool skill impacts the archaeological evidence across technological primates. Scientific Reports, 14: 16556. |
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Reeves, J. S., Proffitt, T., Pacome, S. S., & Luncz, L. V. (2024). Searching for the earliest archaeological record: insights from chimpanzee material landscapes. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 21(217): 20240101. |
Open AccessReeves, J. S., Proffitt, T., Malaivijitnond, S., & Luncz, L. V. (2023). Emergent technological variation in archaeological landscapes: a primate perspective. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 20(203): 20230118. |
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Proffitt, T., Reeves, J. S., Braun, D. R., Malaivijitnond, S., & Luncz, L. V. (2023). Wild macaques challenge the origin of intentional tool production. Science Advances, 9(10): eade8159. |
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Koops, K., Arandjelovic, M., Hobaiter, C., Kalan, A., Luncz, L. V., Musgrave, S., Samuni, L., Sanz, C., & Carvalho, S. (2023). Chimpanzee culture in context: Comment on “Blind alleys and fruitful pathways in the comparative study of cultural cognition” by Andrew Whiten. Physics of Life Reviews, 44, 77-80. |
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Proffitt, T., Reeves, J. S., Falótico, T., Arroyo, A., Torre, I. d. l., Ottoni, E. B., & Luncz, L. V. (2023). Identifying intentional flake production at the dawn of technology: a technological and 3D geometric morphometric study. Journal of Archaeological Science, 152: 105740. |
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Reeves, J. S., Proffitt, T., Almeida-Warren, K., & Luncz, L. V. (2023). Modeling Oldowan tool transport from a primate perspective. Journal of Human Evolution, 181: 103399. |
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Reeves, J. S., Tan, A., Malaivijitnond, S., & Luncz, L. V. (2023). Simulation and social network analysis provide insight into the acquisition of tool behaviour in hybrid macaques. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(1995): 2022276. |
Luncz, L. V., Braun, D. R., Marreiros, J., Bamford, M., Zeng, C., Pacome, S. S., Junghenn, P., Buckley, Z., Yao, X., & Carvalho, S. (2022). Chimpanzee wooden tool analysis advances the identification of percussive technology. iScience, 25(11): 105315. |
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Luncz, L. V., Arroyo, A., Falótico, T., Quinn, P., & Proffitt, T. (2022). A primate model for the origin of flake technology. Journal of Human Evolution, 171: 103250. |
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Proffitt, T., Reeves, J. S., Pacome, S. S., & Luncz, L. V. (2022). Identifying functional and regional differences in chimpanzee stone tool technology. Royal Society Open Science, 9(9): 220826. |
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Carvalho, S., Wessling, E. G., Abwe, E. E., Almeida‐Warren, K., Arandjelovic, M., Boesch, C., Danquah, E., Diallo, M. S., Hobaiter, C., Hockings, K., Humle, T., Ikemeh, R. A., Kalan, A. K., Luncz, L. V., Ohashi, G., Pascual‐Garrido, A., Piel, A., Samuni, L., Soiret, S., Sanz, C., & Koops, K. (2022). Using nonhuman culture in conservation requires careful and concerted action. Conservation Letters, 15(2): e12860. |
Cissewski, J., & Luncz, L. V. (2021). Symbolic signal use in wild chimpanzee gestural communication?: A theoretical framework. Frontiers in Psychology, 12: 718414. |
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Reeves, J. S., Proffitt, T., & Luncz, L. V. (2021). Modeling a primate technological niche. Scientific Reports, 11(1): 23139. |
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Proffitt, T., Reeves, J. S., Benito-Calvo, A., Sánchez-Romero, L., Arroyo, A., Malaijivitnond, S., & Luncz, L. V. (2021). Three-dimensional surface morphometry differentiates behaviour on primate percussive stone tools. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 18(184): 20210576. |
Luncz, L. V., & van de Waal, E. (2020). Cultural transmission in dispersing primates. In L. M. Hopper, & S. R. Ross ( |
Luncz, L. V., Mundry, R., Soiret, S., & Boesch, C. (2019). Cultural diversity of nut-cracking behaviour between two populations of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Côte d'Ivoire. In C. Boesch, & R. M. Wittig ( |
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Sirianni, G., Luncz, L. V., & Gratton, P. (2019). An energetic model of foraging optimisation: Wild chimpanzee hammer selection for nut-cracking. In C. Boesch, & R. M. Wittig ( |
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Luncz, L. V., Gill, M., Proffitt, T., Svensson, M. S., Kulik, L., & Malaivijitnond, S. (2019). Group-specific archaeological signatures of stone tool use in wild macaques. eLife, 8: e46961. |
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Gruber, T., Luncz, L. V., Mörchen, J., Schuppli, C., Kendal, R. L., & Hockings, K. (2019). Cultural change in animals: A flexible behavioural adaptation to human disturbance. Palgrave Communications, 5: 9. |
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Gumert, M. D., Tan, A. W. Y., Luncz, L. V., Chua, C. T., Kulik, L., Switzer, A. D., Haslam, M., Iriki, A., & Malaivijitnond, S. (2019). Prevalence of tool behaviour is associated with pelage phenotype in intraspecific hybrid long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea × M. f. fascicularis). Behaviour, 156, 1083-1125. |
Proffitt, T., Haslam, M., Mercader, J., Boesch, C., & Luncz, L. V. (2018). Revisiting Panda 100, the first archaeological chimpanzee nut-cracking site. Journal of Human Evolution, 124, 117-139. |
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Svensson, M. S., Nekaris, K., Bearder, S. K., Bettridge, C. M., Butynski, T. M., Cheyne, S. M., Das, N., de Jong, A. Y., Luhrs, A. M., Luncz, L. V., Maddock, S. T., Perkin, A., Pimley, E., Poindexter, S. A., Reinhardt, K. D., Spaan, D., Stark, D. J., Starr, C. R., & Nijman, V. (2018). Sleep patterns, daytime predation, and the evolution of diurnal sleep site selection in lorisiforms. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 166(3), 563-577. |
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Luncz, L. V., Sirianni, G., Mundry, R., & Boesch, C. (2018). Costly culture: Differences in nut-cracking efficiency between wild chimpanzee groups. Animal Behaviour, 137, 63-73. |
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Stewart, F. A., Piel, A. K., Luncz, L. V., Osborn, J., Li, Y., Hahn, B. H., & Haslam, M. (2018). DNA recovery from wild chimpanzee tools. PLoS One, 13(1): e0189657. |
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Haslam, M., Falótico, T., & Luncz, L. V. (2018). Recognizing culture in wild primate tool use. In L. Di Paolo, F. Di Vincenzo, & F. De Petrillo ( |
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Proffitt, T., Luncz, L. V., Malaivijitnond, S., Gumert, M., Svensson, M. S., & Haslam, M. (2018). Analysis of wild macaque stone tools used to crack oil palm nuts. Royal Society Open Science, 5(3): 171904. |
Luncz, L. V. (2017). “Latent solutions” are untestable for early stone tools [Reply to Tennie et al. 2017, Current Anthropology, 58 (5), 664-672]. Current Anthropology, 58(5), 656-657. |
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Luncz, L. V., Tan, A., Haslam, M., Kulik, L., Proffitt, T., Malaivijitnond, S., & Gumert, M. (2017). Resource depletion through primate stone technology. eLife, 6: e23647. |
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Falótico, T., Spagnoletti, N., Haslam, M., Luncz, L. V., Malaivijitnond, S., & Gumert, M. (2017). Analysis of sea almond (Terminalia catappa) cracking sites used by wild Burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea). American Journal of Primatology, 79(5): e22629. |
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Haslam, M., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Proffitt, T., Arroyo, A., Falótico, T., Fragaszy, D., Gumert, M., Harris, J. W. K., Huffman, M. A., Kalan, A. K., Malaivijitnond, S., Matsuzawa, T., McGrew, W., Ottoni, E. B., Pascual-Garrido, A., Piel, A., Pruetz, J., Schuppli, C., Stewart, F., Tan, A., Visalberghi, E., & Luncz, L. V. (2017). Primate archaeology evolves. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1, 1431-1437. |
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Luncz, L. V., Svensson, M. S., Haslam, M., Malaivijitnond, S., Proffitt, T., & Gumert, M. (2017). Technological response of wild macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to anthropogenic change. International Journal of Primatology, 38(5), 872-880. |
Luncz, L. V., Proffitt, T., Kulik, L., Haslam, M., & Wittig, R. M. (2016). Distance-decay effect in stone tool transport by wild chimpanzees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1845): 20161607. |
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Luncz, L. V., Falótico, T., Pascual-Garrido, A., Corat, C., Mosley, H., & Haslam, M. (2016). Wild capuchin monkeys adjust stone tools according to changing nut properties. Scientific Reports, 6: 33089. |
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Haslam, M., Luncz, L. V., Pascual-Garrido, A., Falótico, T., Malaivijitnond, S., & Gumert, M. (2016). Archaeological excavation of wild macaque stone tools. Journal of Human Evolution, 96, 134-138. |
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Haslam, M., Luncz, L. V., Staff, R. A., Bradshaw, F., Ottoni, E. B., & Falótico, T. (2016). Pre-Columbian monkey tools. Current Biology, 26(13), R521-R522. |
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Tan, A. W. Y., Luncz, L. V., Haslam, M., Malaivijitnond, S., & Gumert, M. D. (2016). Complex processing of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) by free-ranging long-tailed macaques: Preliminary analysis for hierarchical organisation. Primates, 57(2), 141-147. |
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Falótico, T., Luncz, L. V., Svensson, M., & Haslam, M. (2016). Cashew nut positioning during stone tool use by wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). Folia Primatologica, 87(6), 392-397. |
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Proffitt, T., Luncz, L. V., Falótico, T., Ottoni, E. B., de la Torre, I., & Haslam, M. (2016). Wild monkeys flake stone tools. Nature, 539(7627), 85-88. |
Luncz, L. V., Wittig, R. M., & Boesch, C. (2015). Primate archaeology reveals cultural transmission in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, 370(1682): 0140348. |
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Luncz, L. V., & Boesch, C. (2015). The extent of cultural variation between adjacent chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) communities: A microecological approach. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156(1), 67-75. |
Luncz, L. V., & Boesch, C. (2014). Tradition over trend: Neighboring chimpanzee communities maintain differences in cultural behavior despite frequent immigration of adult females. American Journal of Primatology, 76(7), 649-657. |
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Luncz, L. V. (2014). Comparative analysis of cultural variation among neighboring chimpanzee communities. PhD Thesis, Univ., Leipzig. |
Luncz, L. V., & Boesch, C. (2013). Conformity to group specific tool use behaviour among three neighbouring chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) communities in Cote d'Ivoire. Folia primatologica, 84(3-5), 298. |
Luncz, L. V., Mundry, R., & Boesch, C. (2012). Evidence for cultural differences between neighboring chimpanzee communities. Current Biology, 22(10), 922-926. |