10 14 2014 Anthropology 2200 Primate Behavior Culture We study primates to understand our own behavior Why are most primates social That is how they learn different behaviors Learning starts with mother infant pair bond Size of group determined by several factors o Body size diet predators and activity patterns I e time of day night they are active Advantages of social groups Helps primates to survive Protection from predators Controlling food source Easy to find mates important for reproduction and carrying out genes Share information if someone know where food is share it and make new territory Advantages of solitary living Less individuals make less noise Don t need to share whatever they have is their s o Food o Mates o Territory disease Dominance for social groups Less spread of disease less contact with others therefore less change of dying from Helps maintain order Less physical violence Can move up or down the social standing if they are smart and strong enough Aggression Groups still experience aggression Anthropology 2200 10 14 2014 Usually over resources or mates o Resolved through one individual submitting or via non peaceful means After aggressive periods a group will re enforce their bonds o When one individual performs an entirely selfless act knowing it will be to their o True altruism is very rare I think help without return recheck o Reciprocal altruism is more common if you help one he will help you in the One way to determine a more dominant individual is through sexual selection For males it s about competition o Goal is to have as many offspring as possible without having to worry about Affiliation o Grooming Altruism detriment future Sexual selection rearing them Behavior to increase fitness Recall what is fitness Example Howler Monkey Protect resources More food More mates More offspring Anthropology 2200 Behavior Evolution and Humans 10 14 2014 Behavior is a continuum that builds from non human primates to early hominins our ancestors to humans What we know is that primates need the parental bond and physical contact otherwise their social learning will suffer and in some cases they will die Primate Culture Culture is a shared or learned behavior Regional variation in their culture Tool use Culture Monkeys Japanese macaques have some culture Bathing in hot springs Cleaning sweat potatoes in water Culture Capuchin Monkeys out of all the monkeys they have the most passed out behavior Have the most culture of all monkeys Nut crack using rocks tool use Use leaves as sponges to soak up water from tree holes Smack a clam against a tree trunk until it opens up so that he can eat it Culture Gorilla At least one has been recorded testing water depth May have been using the stick for balance and stabilization Culture Orangutans Anthropology 2200 10 14 2014 Build nest and leaf umbrellas o Use sticks to dip for ants and termites All of these behaviors are learned by infants from their mother Culture Apes Twig dip for termites and ants They will crack nuts with a rock in a hammer anvil type system o Different from capuchin monkeys can crack the shell without damaging the kernel Wooden spears to hunt galagos Mortar Pestle system to grind palm heart easier to digest