Evolutionary scientists know that the line that divides humans from other animals has grown increasingly blurry, yet many other fields, especially in the social sciences, have not really absorbed this knowledge. At the same time, the knowledge that all humans are genetically and cognitively modern has left the apes as our only true "savages." Thus if we want to learn about human nature and how we came to be as we are, we must look to the apes. In this sweeping, fresh, controversial book, primatologist Craig Stanford does just that, giving us fascinating insights--and debunks many myths--about infanticide, mating practices, and the origins of human cognition.

Using Shakespeare's play The Tempest and its characters Prospero and Caliban as structural metaphors representing the master-slave relationship between humans and chimpanzees, authors Dale Peterson and Jane Goodall collaborate in this exploration of our interaction with the species that shares more than 98 percent of our genetic makeup. After introducing us to an animal that fashions and uses tools, exploits forest medicines, transmits learned cultural behaviors, and exhibits human-like emotions, Peterson and Goodall present an illuminating, frequently startling study of the current threats to wild chimpanzees' habitats and the many abuses that chimps have endured and continue to face at the hands of humans. They address conservation issues and ethical questions concerning keeping chimpanzees in captivity, whether as pets or for entertainment or research, and offer firsthand evidence of the drastically declining numbers of chimpanzees in the wild.

Through their in-depth exploration of our relationship with chimpanzees, Peterson and Goodall demonstrate our close ties to these animals and also reveal how distant humans have become from their own place in nature. Both an informative, entertaining collection of stories about the authors' research experiences with chimps and a poignant call for a change in our perceptions and treatment of them, Visions of Caliban is a moving and important work.

This text presents the results of a research project carried out on foraging behaviour among African baboons and its consequences for survival and reproduction. Detailed data is provided on the feeding habits of each baboon, with an analysis of its nutrient intake. These figures are then compared with those in optimum diets. The most striking result of this study is that the baboon's subsequent survival and reproductive success could be accurately predicted from what they had eaten as yearlings. The animals with energy intakes closest to the optimum and protein intakes furthest above their requirements were most likely to survive to adulthood and to successfully produce offspring.

Introduction to the Primates is a comprehensive but compact guide to the long evolutionary history of the world's prosimians, monkeys, and apes, and to the much shorter history of humankind's interactions with them, from our earliest recorded observations to the severe threats we now pose to their survival. Daris Swindler provides a detailed description of the major primate groups and their environments, from the smallest lemurs of Madagascar to the gorillas of central Africa. He compares and contrasts the primate species, looking at each with a specific anatomical focus. The range of diversity emerges as the particular characteristics of the species becomes increasingly distinct. Swindler also considers primate behavior and its close connections with environment and evolutionary differences. His account of 65 million years of successful adaptation and evolution demonstrates the drama of paleontology as evidence accrues and gaps in the history of primate evolution gradually close.

Do chimpanzees have something akin to culture? Bringing together studies of behavioral variation within and among chimpanzees and bonobos --the sibling species of the genus "Pan"--this book provides the basis for answering this question. In "Chimpanzee Cultures," the world's leading authorities on chimpanzees and bonobos chronicle the animals' behaviors from one study site to the next, in both captive and wild groups, in laboratory and field settings.

The battle of the sexes can be explained at its deepest level, writes Meredith Small, as a war of different mating strategies. In her intriguing and provocative book about females and sex, Small concentrates on primates - the prosimians, monkeys, and apes, whose ancestry we share - to show how females have evolved to be highly sexual creatures. Using nonhuman female primates as a gauge, she describes the sexual and reproductive strategies of our nearest cousins to demonstrate that just as males are strategists in the reproductive game, females also search for good partners, enjoy sex, and keep their own reproductive interests in mind. Female Choices opens with the evolution of sexual reproduction and of males and females as distinct forms. Small then introduces primates and gives a detailed history of the average female's life cycle. After devoting chapters to sexuality, reproduction, and sexual selection theory - the theory behind female mate choice - she discusses what female primates actually do. Drawing on her own firsthand observation of nonhuman primates, she shows that some are highly "promiscuous, " others prefer several unfamiliar males, and some apparently make no choices at all. The behavior of the undiscriminating females often affects the evolution of relationships between the sexes and can influence the social structure of a species. In a final chapter on human behavior, Small maintains that the human pair-bond is a tenuous compromise made by the two sexes to bring up highly dependent infants. But, she writes, because both sexes also have a "natural" tendency to seek out other partners, that bond is always at risk. Small insists that female choice is not necessarily sexualselection, but is nonetheless important to female fitness. Sure to provoke controversy, her book will add a new twist to an exciting field of research while offering significant clues as to the origins of our own sexuality.

Key features: Offers chapters by renowned experts which are comprised of three subunits: a theoretical discussion of the content area, a description of the methods employed to address the content area, and finally, and most importantly, a discussion of the ways that relevant aspects of the content area can be easily employed/adapted to enhance the behavioral management of NHPs Provides case studies that highlight the areas of expertise of the authors and emphasize 'success stories' that can be used to develop behavioral management strategies and build behavioral management programs Presents 'Genera-specific' chapters which focus on behavioral management strategies that, typically, are successfully employed with particular taxa of NHPs Includes a novel, pioneering 'Product/services' section that provides the producers of important technologies, equipment, and services with an opportunity to highlight the ways in which their products enhance the ability of their clients to manage the behavior of NHPs Illustrated with full color images and drawings throughout. The Handbook of Primate Behavioral Management (HPBM) fills a void in the scientific literature, providing those who work with nonhuman primates (NHPs) with a centralized reference for many issues related to the care and behavioral management of captive nonhuman primates. While there are numerous publications scattered throughout the literature that deal with the behavioral management of NHPs, this comprehensive handbook is the first single-source reference to summarize and synthesize this information. The HPBM is organized into six complementary parts starting with an introductory section. The book then provides in-depth coverage of content issues, applications and implementation, genera-specific chapters, technology-related questions involved in the behavioral management of NHPs, and a concluding section. Primate behavioral management is a topic that has recently generated a considerable number of primary publications in the scientific literature, mostly with an applied focus. Similarly, there are many primary publications currently available that address more basic issues related to the understanding of primate behavior. One of the principal goals of the HPBM is to highlight and synthesize basic science advances that can be adapted and applied to enhance the behavioral management of captive NHPs.

In the childhood of every human being and at the dawn of human history there is an amazing and, until now, unexplained leap from simple genetically programmed behaviour to language, symbolic thinking, and culture. In The First Idea , Stanley Greenspan and Stuart Shanker explore this missing link and offer brilliant new insights into two longstanding questions: how human beings first create symbols and how these abilities evolved and were transmitted across generations over millions of years. From fascinating research into the intelligence of both human infants and apes, they identify certain cultural practices that are vitally important if we are to have stable and reflective future societies.

How have our conceptions of primate behaviour and society changed since primatology came into its own after World War II? What kind of science is primatology, and what role have women scientists played in its development? "Primate Encounters" represents a pioneering attempt to answer these questions by bringing together two groups of scholars who often ask them: scientists and those who study them. The result is a fascinating and provocative collective reflection on primatology and on science in general, and on the relations of both broader cultural, historical and social issues. Beginning with a history of ideas about primate society, the book continues with personal reflections from senior primatologists who have lived that history. Other chapters reveal the diversity of "primatologies" that exist outside North America, compare the history of primatology to that of closely related disciplines such as archaeology and animal behaviour, and examine the roles that gender, media, society and technology have played in the development of the field. With contributions by a number of well known scholars in both primatology and science studies, including Donna Haraway, Alison Jolly, Bruno Latour and Robert W. Sussman, "Primate Encounters" demonstrates the exciting possibilities that arise when scholars from both sides of the "science wars" trade ideas rather than insults. The book also includes a selection of informal e-mail exchanges that allows readers to experience firsthand some of the lively discussions generated by such a diverse group of contributors.

This text presents the results of a research project carried out on foraging behaviour among African baboons and its consequences for survival and reproduction. Detailed data is provided on the feeding habits of each baboon, with an analysis of its nutrient intake. These figures are then compared with those in optimum diets. The most striking result of this study is that the baboon's subsequent survival and reproductive success could be accurately predicted from what they had eaten as yearlings. The animals with energy intakes closest to the optimum and protein intakes furthest above their requirements were most likely to survive to adulthood and to successfully produce offspring.

The woolly spider monkey, or muriqui, is one of the most threatened primate species in the world. Because of deforestation in their natural habitat--the Atlantic coastal forests of southeastern Brazil--the muriquis are confined to less than 3 percent of their original range. As of 1987, there were only a dozen forest fragments known to support a total muriqui population of about 500. As of 1998, at least 20 forests are known to support at least 1,000 muriquis. This book traces the natural history of the muriqui from its scientific discovery in 1806 to its current, highly endangered status.

Karen Strier provides a case study of this scientifically important primate species by balancing field research and ecological issues. Through her accessible presentation, readers gain a broad understanding of primate behavior and tropical conservation.

Ever since Jane Goodall unlocked the mysteries of wild chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey lived among Mountain gorillas, the world has been captivated by primates and the people who study them. Here at last, is the riveting story of Birute Galdikas, a pioneering primatologist who has spent much of herlive studying orangutans.

In 1971, twenty-five-year-old Galdikas began living in the remote jungles of Indonesian Borneo, where she encountered menacing poachers, blood-sucking leeches and swarms of carnivorous insects. Determined to penetrate the world of the elusive "red ape" in the name of science and conservation, Galdikas embarked on a quest of more than twenty years to become the foremost chronicler of orangutan life. Her first task was to form a bond of trust with the animals, but her initial forays into their world were thwarted by skeptical and territorial orangutans like handsome Cara, who hurled dead branches at Galdikas from the tree canopy above. Eventually Galdikas became a surrogate member of the community, triumphantly claimed as "mother" by little Sugito, who clung to her fiercely, night and day, for months. Reflections of Eden is an exotic adventure, a history of vital scientific research, and the memoir of a remarkable woman.

Examines conflict as a normal and recurrent feature of primate social life, emphasizing that the study of aggression and social conflict is important to understanding the basic processes that contribute to social order. The contributors scientists with field and laboratory experience in anthropology, behavioral endocrinology, ethology, and psycholo

De tous les temps le Singe a inquiete: sa ressemblance avec l'homme rend son animalite ambigue. La primatologie analyse, sous tous leurs aspects, les liens et les differences entre les Anthropoides et l'Homme. La psychologie animale a sa part dans cette analyse. Paul Guillaume et Ignace Meyerson publient de 1930 a 1937, dans le Journal de psychologie, Recherches sur l'usage de l'instrument chez les singes, articles reunis ici en un seul volume. A partir de 1927, a l'Institut Pasteur et au Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, avec un materiel tres reduit, evitant tout dressage, Guillaume et Meyerson ont essaye d'etablir une double echelle de niveau en correspondance: niveaux d'intelligence animale; types d'experiences marquant les traits principaux de ces niveaux. Ces articles constituent donc une etape historique dans la connaissance du comportement des Singes. Ils sont aussi et surtout une oeuvre de reference pour les chercheurs contemporains, mieux prepares a saisir la portee de ces travaux, tant sur le plan cognitif qu'evolutif.

The Natural History of the Doucs and Snub-nosed Monkeys provides a comprehensive introduction to the biology of some of the rarest and least-known nonhuman primates. Virtually unstudied and unknown until 20 years ago, the doucs and snub-nosed monkeys occupy some of the most remote habitats of eastern Asia and exhibit some of the most unusual adaptations of any nonhuman primates. The volume provides detailed information on these rare Asian primates that will be useful to practitioners of evolutionary biology, field and laboratory primatology, systematics, field ecology, and conservation biology.

Vividly written and filled with fascinating insights, Almost Human chronicles thirty years of Shirley Strum's fieldwork with a troop of olive baboons nicknamed the Pumphouse Gang. From the first paragraph, the reader is drawn along with Strum into the world of the baboons, learning about the tragedies and triumphs of their daily lives-and of her own voyage of courageous scientific discovery.
In the same way that Jane Goodall's pioneering study of chimpanzees revealed their likeness to humans, Strum's work shows how, contrary to the popular image and the scientific evidence of the time, the more distantly related baboons are just as socially savvy. "Almost Human" includes her groundbreaking discovery that social finesse, rather than male dominance and aggression, plays a crucial role in baboon society, and Strum relates the drama of a daring translocation experiment with the Pumphouse Gang that ultimately ensured their survival when their habitat was threatened by destruction.
This edition includes a new introduction that places Strum's research in the context of the current global conservation crisis and an epilogue that tells us what has happened to the Pumphouse Gang since the book was first published.