Tree of origin : what primate behavior can tell us about human social evolution

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Tree of origin : what primate behavior can tell us about human social evolution

Frans B.M. de Waal, editor

Harvard University Press, 2002

  • : pbk

Available at  / 6 libraries

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

How did we become the linguistic, cultured, and hugely successful apes that we are? Our closest relatives--the other mentally complex and socially skilled primates--offer tantalizing clues. In Tree of Origin nine of the world's top primate experts read these clues and compose the most extensive picture to date of what the behavior of monkeys and apes can tell us about our own evolution as a species. It has been nearly fifteen years since a single volume addressed the issue of human evolution from a primate perspective, and in that time we have witnessed explosive growth in research on the subject. Tree of Origin gives us the latest news about bonobos, the "make love not war" apes who behave so dramatically unlike chimpanzees. We learn about the tool traditions and social customs that set each ape community apart. We see how DNA analysis is revolutionizing our understanding of paternity, intergroup migration, and reproductive success. And we confront intriguing discoveries about primate hunting behavior, politics, cognition, diet, and the evolution of language and intelligence that challenge claims of human uniqueness in new and subtle ways. Tree of Origin provides the clearest glimpse yet of the apelike ancestor who left the forest and began the long journey toward modern humanity.

Table of Contents

Frans B. M. de Waal Introduction 1. Anne E. Pusey Of Genes and Apes: Chimpanzee Social Organization and Reproduction 2. Frans B. M. de Waal Apes from Venus: Bonobos and Human Social Evolution 3. Karen B. Strier Beyond the Apes: Reasons to Consider the Entire Primate Order 4. Craig S. Stanford The Ape's Gift: Meat-eating, Meat-sharing, and Human Evolution 5. Richard W. Wrangham Out of the Pan, Into the Fire: How Our Ancestors' Evolution Depended on What They Ate 6 Richard W. Byrne Social and Technical Forms of Primate Intelligence 7. Robin I. M. Dunbar Brains on Two Legs: Group Size and the Evolution of Intelligence 8. Charles T. Snowdon From Primate Communication to Human Language 9. William C. McGrew The Nature of Culture: Prospects and Pitfalls of Cultural Primatology Notes

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