Download or read book Tree of Origin written by Frans B. M. de Waal and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Primate Behavior and Human Origins written by Glenn E. King and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-10-30 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive introduction demonstrates the theoretical perspectives and concepts that are applied to primate behavior, and explores the relevance of non-human primates to understanding human behavior. Using a streamlined and student-friendly taxonomic framework, King provides a thorough overview of the primate order. The chapters cover common features and diversity, and touch on ecology, sociality, life history, and cognition. Text boxes are included throughout the discussion featuring additional topics and more sophisticated taxonomy. The book contains a wealth of illustrations, and further resources to support teaching and learning are available via a companion website. Written in an engaging and approachable style, this is an invaluable resource for students of primate behavior as well as human evolution.
Download or read book Apes and Human Evolution written by Russell H. Tuttle and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-17 with total page 1089 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this masterwork, Russell H. Tuttle synthesizes a vast research literature in primate evolution and behavior to explain how apes and humans evolved in relation to one another, and why humans became a bipedal, tool-making, culture-inventing species distinct from other hominoids. Along the way, he refutes the influential theory that men are essentially killer apes—sophisticated but instinctively aggressive and destructive beings. Situating humans in a broad context, Tuttle musters convincing evidence from morphology and recent fossil discoveries to reveal what early primates ate, where they slept, how they learned to walk upright, how brain and hand anatomy evolved simultaneously, and what else happened evolutionarily to cause humans to diverge from their closest relatives. Despite our genomic similarities with bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas, humans are unique among primates in occupying a symbolic niche of values and beliefs based on symbolically mediated cognitive processes. Although apes exhibit behaviors that strongly suggest they can think, salient elements of human culture—speech, mating proscriptions, kinship structures, and moral codes—are symbolic systems that are not manifest in ape niches. This encyclopedic volume is both a milestone in primatological research and a critique of what is known and yet to be discovered about human and ape potential.
Download or read book Why Chimpanzees Can t Learn Language and Only Humans Can written by Herbert S. Terrace and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1970s, the behavioral psychologist Herbert S. Terrace led a remarkable experiment to see if a chimpanzee could be taught to use language. A young ape, named “Nim Chimpsky” in a nod to the linguist whose theories Terrace challenged, was raised by a family in New York and instructed in American Sign Language. Initially, Terrace thought that Nim could create sentences but later discovered that Nim’s teachers inadvertently cued his signing. Terrace concluded that Project Nim failed—not because Nim couldn’t create sentences but because he couldn’t even learn words. Language is a uniquely human quality, and attempting to find it in animals is wishful thinking at best. The failure of Project Nim meant we were no closer to understanding where language comes from. In this book, Terrace revisits Project Nim to offer a novel view of the origins of human language. In contrast to both Noam Chomsky and his critics, Terrace contends that words, as much as grammar, are the cornerstones of language. Retracing human evolution and developmental psychology, he shows that nonverbal interaction is the foundation of infant language acquisition, leading up to a child’s first words. By placing words and conversation before grammar, we can, for the first time, account for the evolutionary basis of language. Terrace argues that this theory explains Nim’s inability to acquire words and, more broadly, the differences between human and animal communication. Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can is a masterful statement of the nature of language and what it means to be human.
Download or read book The Primate Origins of Human Nature written by Carel P. Van Schaik and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Primate Origins of Human Nature (Volume 3 in The Foundations of Human Biology series) blends several elements from evolutionary biology as applied to primate behavioral ecology and primate psychology, classical physical anthropology and evolutionary psychology of humans. However, unlike similar books, it strives to define the human species relative to our living and extinct relatives, and thus highlights uniquely derived human features. The book features a truly multi-disciplinary, multi-theory, and comparative species approach to subjects not usually presented in textbooks focused on humans, such as the evolution of culture, life history, parenting, and social organization.
Download or read book Tree of Origin written by Frans B. M. de Waal and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2002-10-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Primate People written by Lisa Kemmerer and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thought-provoking collection sheds light on the plight of our nonhuman primate cousins--and what we can do to help
Download or read book Primates written by Kurt Benirschke and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 1027 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This conference represents the first time in my life when I felt it was a misfor tune, rather than a major cause of my happiness, that I do conservation work in New Guinea. Yes, it is true that New Guinea is a fascinating microcosm, it has fascinating birds and people, and it has large expanses of undisturbed rainforest. In the course of my work there, helping the Indonesian government and World Wildlife Fund set up a comprehensive national park system, I have been able to study animals in areas without any human population. But New Guinea has one serious drawback: it has no primates, except for humans. Thus, I come to this conference on primate conservation as an underprivileged and emotionally deprived observer, rather than as an involved participant. Nevertheless, it is easy for anyone to become interested in primate conserva tion. The public cares about primates. More specifically, to state things more realistically, many people care some of the time about some primates. Primates are rivaled only by birds, pandas, and the big cats in their public appeal. For some other groups of animals, the best we can say is that few people care about them, infrequently. For most groups of animals, no one cares about them, ever.
Download or read book Primates Face to Face written by Agustín Fuentes and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-01-17 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As our closest evolutionary relatives, nonhuman primates are integral elements in our mythologies, diets and scientific paradigms, yet most species now face an uncertain future through exploitation for the pet and bushmeat trades as well as progressive habitat loss. New information about disease transmission, dietary and economic linkage, and the continuing international focus on conservation and primate research have created a surge of interest in primates, and focus on the diverse interaction of human and nonhuman primates has become an important component in primatological and ethnographic studies. By examining the diverse and fascinating range of relationships between humans and other primates, and how this plays a critical role in conservation practice and programs, Primates Face to Face disseminates the information gained from the anthropological study of nonhuman primates to the wider academic and non-academic world.
Download or read book The Chosen Primate written by Adam Kuper and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chosen Primate ends by looking forward to the next millennium, noting that our future depends on our response to another fundamental question: Will our culture, which has given us the means to adapt successfully to nature, ultimately destroy nature? In raising this question, Kuper shows that debates in anthropology are more than just academic disputes - they engage the major issues of our time.
Download or read book Human Herpesviruses written by Ann Arvin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-08-16 with total page 1325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive account of the human herpesviruses provides an encyclopedic overview of their basic virology and clinical manifestations. This group of viruses includes human simplex type 1 and 2, Epstein–Barr virus, Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, HHV6A, 6B and 7, and varicella-zoster virus. The viral diseases and cancers they cause are significant and often recurrent. Their prevalence in the developed world accounts for a major burden of disease, and as a result there is a great deal of research into the pathophysiology of infection and immunobiology. Another important area covered within this volume concerns antiviral therapy and the development of vaccines. All these aspects are covered in depth, both scientifically and in terms of clinical guidelines for patient care. The text is illustrated generously throughout and is fully referenced to the latest research and developments.
Download or read book Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans written by Martin N. Muller and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-19 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents extensive field research and analysis to evaluate sexual coercion in a range of species—including all of the great apes and humans—and to clarify its role in shaping social relationships among males, among females, and between the sexes.
Download or read book Rogue Primate written by John A. Livingston and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . Powerful and uncompromising, Rogue Primate asks the disturbing question of what it really means to be a human living in a non-human world.
Download or read book Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-06-13 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of occupational health and safety constantly changes, especially as it pertains to biomedical research. New infectious hazards are of particular importance at nonhuman-primate facilities. For example, the discovery that B virus can be transmitted via a splash on a mucous membrane raises new concerns that must be addressed, as does the discovery of the Reston strain of Ebola virus in import quarantine facilities in the U.S. The risk of such infectious hazards is best managed through a flexible and comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP) that can identify and mitigate potential hazards. Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates is intended as a reference for vivarium managers, veterinarians, researchers, safety professionals, and others who are involved in developing or implementing an OHSP that deals with nonhuman primates. The book lists the important features of an OHSP and provides the tools necessary for informed decision-making in developing an optimal program that meets all particular institutional needs.
Download or read book Visions of Caliban written by Dale Peterson and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors use Shakespeare's Tempest as a metaphor for the relationship between people and chimps, exploring the very human aspects of this remarkable species. Original.
Download or read book Macachiavellian Intelligence written by Dario Maestripieri and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Judged by population size and distribution, homo sapiens are clearly the most successful primates. A close second, however, would be rhesus macaques, who have adapted to—and thrived in—such diverse environments as mountain forests, dry grasslands, and urban sprawl. Scientists have spent countless hours studying these opportunistic monkeys, but rhesus macaques have long been overshadowed in the public eye by the great apes, who, because of their greater intelligence, are naturally assumed to have more to teach us, both about other primates and about humans as well. Dario Maestripieri thinks it is high time we shelve that misperception, and with Macachiavellian Intelligence he gives rhesus macaques their rightful turn in the spotlight. The product of more than twenty years studying these fascinating creatures, Macachiavellian Intelligence caricatures a society that is as much human as monkey, with hierarchies and power struggles that would impress Machiavelli himself. High-status macaques, for instance, maintain their rank through deft uses of violence and manipulation, while altruism is almost unknown and relationships are perpetually subject to the cruel laws of the market. Throughout this eye-opening account, Maestripieri weds his thorough knowledge of macaque behavior to his abiding fascination with human society and motivations. The result is a book unlike any other, one that draws on economics as much as evolutionary biology, politics as much as primatology. Rife with unexpected connections and peppered with fascinating anecdotes, Macachiavellian Intelligence has as much to teach us about humans as it does about macaques, presenting a wry, rational, and wholly surprising view of our humanity as seen through the monkey in the mirror.
Download or read book Primates in Anthropogenic Landscapes written by Tracie McKinney and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of primatology has expanded substantially in the last twenty years, particularly with regard to studies of primates in human-altered landscapes. This text aims to review the recent literature on anthropogenic (of human origin) influences on non-human primates, bringing an overview of this important area of primatology together for students. Chapters are grouped into three sections, representing the many ways anthropogenic activities affect primate populations. The first section, ‘Human Influences on Primate Habitat’, covers ways in which wild primates are affected by human actions, including forest fragmentation, climate change, and the presence of dogs. Section two, ‘Primates in Human-Dominated Landscapes’, looks at situations where non-human primates and humans share space; this includes primates in urban environments, primate tourism, and primates in agroecosystems. The final section, ‘Primates in Captivity’, looks at primate behaviour and welfare in captive situations, including zoos, the primate pet trade, and in entertainment.
