In 68 days in the Gombe National Forest in Tanzania, anthropologist
Craig Stanford watched chimpanzees, once thought to be vegetarians,
kill and eat 71 colobus monkeys. An average chimpanzee community,
in fact, consumes a ton of meat each year, and meat is sometimes
traded for sex and power. These and other startling observations
which appear to link humans and various primates are helping to
illuminate the search for a biological basis for certain human
behaviour. Blending his own observations of primates from three
continents, plus an examination of fossil evidence and
anthropological studies of hunter-gatherer societies, Stanford
argues that meat may well have been the key to the expansion of the
human brain. This is not meant to be the definitive text on the
issue but an exploration of one scientist's informed yet
provocative view. As such, it is well written and presented in
seven closely linked essays. Highly recommended. (Kirkus UK)
What makes humans unique? What makes us the most successful
animal species inhabiting the Earth today? Most scientists agree
that the key to our success is the unusually large size of our
brains. Our large brains gave us our exceptional thinking capacity
and led to humans' other distinctive characteristics, including
advanced communication, tool use, and walking on two legs. Or was
it the other way around? Did the challenges faced by early humans
push the species toward communication, tool use, and walking and,
in doing so, drive the evolutionary engine toward a large brain? In
this provocative new book, Craig Stanford presents an intriguing
alternative to this puzzling question--an alternative grounded in
recent, groundbreaking scientific observation. According to
Stanford, what made humans unique was meat. Or, rather, the desire
for meat, the eating of meat, the hunting of meat, and the sharing
of meat.
Based on new insights into the behavior of chimps and other
great apes, our now extinct human ancestors, and existing hunting
and gathering societies, Stanford shows the remarkable role that
meat has played in these societies. Perhaps because it provides a
highly concentrated source of protein--essential for the
development and health of the brain--meat is craved by many
primates, including humans. This craving has given meat genuine
power--the power to cause males to form hunting parties and
organize entire cultures around hunting. And it has given men the
power to manipulate and control women in these cultures. Stanford
argues that the skills developed and required for successful
hunting and "especially" the sharing of meat spurred the explosion
of human brain size over the past 200,000 years. He then turns his
attention to the ways meat is shared within primate and human
societies to argue that this all-important activity has had
profound effects on basic social structures that are still felt
today.
Sure to spark a lively debate, Stanford's argument takes the
form of an extended essay on human origins. The book's small
format, helpful illustrations, and moderate tone will appeal to all
readers interested in those fundamental questions about what makes
us human.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
