Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15Slide 16Slide 17Slide 18Slide 19How can we learn aboutpossible early human behavior?Primate behavior studies are seen as models for early human behavior: When present humans have a behavior,and our closest living relatives havethat behavior,then our distant shared ancestorprobably had that behaviorThat is an homologous behavior.It is why we study chimpanzees and bonobos,who split from humans about 5-6 myaOr sometimes we study other less-recentlyrelated primates who now live in the same kind of environment we think the early humans lived inThat is called analogous behaviorandis why we study baboonsBaboon (Papio)5 speciesSome live in the savannas of East and South AfricaLive in troops that are based on a network of social alliancesAlliances/friendships include female/female, female/male, and male/maleMales have a lot of power and they protect the troop(Wikipedia.com)Members of a troop have different social positions.Social positions are based on experience, skills, and ability to gain and influence allies/friendsStable group is a female and her relativesCompetition is among females over resources for the family of eachMales make overtures toward females in estrus, but females choose who they mate withChimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)Every individual has a place in the society’s dominance hierarchyMales are generally ranked above females: higher ranked male gets feeding spot and femalesFemales are also hierarchically rankedGroup membership is fluid, yet there isa sense of group identity and territory(fusion-fission pattern to group)(Wikipedia.com)Strong family bonds center around a femaleand her childrenMembers of a family unit protect and carefor one anotherCare extends outside the family unitMany adults aid or protect youngsters(Goodall 1986)Chimpanzees sometimes hunt for meat:small pigs, antelopes, monkeys, baboonsMeat is the one food chimps share. They appear to use it as social capital.(Goodall 1986:300)Years of observation of chimp behaviorin the wild indicates:Chimp behavior is flexible and adaptableMuch chimp behavior is learnedThere is variation in behavior among groupsThere is variation in behavior between groupsObviously, chimps can invent new behaviorsand pass them on sociallySome researchers call these differencescustoms, or think of the groups as different culturesBonobos (Pan paniscus)Estimated to have branched off from the chimpanzee about 930,000 years agoLike the chimp, has a dominance hierarchyBut little aggression involved in establishingthe hierarchy in malesFemale hierarchy appears based on seniorityFemales may dominate malesMother’s bond with children remains strongMothers nurse and care for young about 5 yearsGive birth every 5-6 yearsMother with2-year old childFollow fusion-fission group behavior:Group of about 100 bonobo sleep in same areaSplit into smaller groups during day to forageMainly frugivorousFemales are always sexually receptiveSexual activity is used as social glue toprevent violence, ease tension, offer greeting,reconcile, or for reassuranceBonobos are more peaceful and gregariousthan chimpanzeesThey share food, including meatThey rarely hunt; they hunt individually forvery small game: squirrel, tiny antelopeChimps make and use tools to obtain foodor waterBonobos make and use tools, but never forobtaining foodEthnographic AnalogyStudy of a contemporary or historically recordedhuman group, to use as a model for interpretationIn addition to looking at relatively unrelatedprimates (such as baboons) for analogies forpossible early human behaviorWe look to modern or historic human societieswho live without much technologyIn particular, we have targeted hunter-gathererand forager groups who rely on wild game and plantsALL humans lived this way until about 12,000 yrs agoIn recent history these have included: Eskimo (Inuit)Australian aboriginesSome Philippine groups!Kung San or Ju/’hoansi of southern AfricaKalahari DesertSome generalizations about hunter-gatherers: Foraging societies tend to be egalitarian (status is based on age, gender, married status, and talent)Sharing and kinship are important Foraging band made up of related family units: average size 25 people.Nuclear family unit is mother, father, and their offspringOften have home range, seasonal cycles Band may have flexible membershipUsually men hunt, often cooperatively. Meat shared, sometimes through elaborate rituals. Usually women gather, normally for her family. Supplies most of the daily food to family.What behavioral similaritiesamong baboons, chimpanzees,bonobos, and humans?A social structure built around a family unitMother-child bond is especially strongMutual aid within a group; long-term friendshipsDefense of the groupPresence of a home range or territoryRecognition of individuals and their differential standings within the groupSo perhaps we might expect these behaviors or adaptations in the earliest
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