How can we learn about possible 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 have that behavior then our distant shared ancestor probably had that behavior That is an homologous behavior It is why we study chimpanzees and bonobos who split from humans about 5 6 mya Or sometimes we study other less recently related primates who now live in the same kind of environment we think the early humans lived in That is called analogous behavior and is why we study baboons Baboon Papio 5 species Wikipedia com Some live in the savannas of East and South Africa Live in troops that are based on a network of social alliances Alliances friendships include female female female male and male male Males have a lot of power and they protect the troop Members of a troop have different social positions Social positions are based on experience skills and ability to gain and influence allies friends Stable group is a female and her relatives Competition is among females over resources for the family of each Males make overtures toward females in estrus but females choose who they mate with Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes Every individual has a place in the society s dominance hierarchy Males are generally ranked above females higher ranked male gets feeding spot and females Females are also hierarchically ranked Wikipedia com Group membership is fluid yet there is a sense of group identity and territory fusion fission pattern to group Strong family bonds center around a female and her children Members of a family unit protect and care for one another Care extends outside the family unit Many adults aid or protect youngsters Goodall 1986 Chimpanzees sometimes hunt for meat small pigs antelopes monkeys baboons Meat is the one food chimps share They appear to use it as social capital Goodall 1986 300 Years of observation of chimp behavior in the wild indicates Chimp behavior is flexible and adaptable Much chimp behavior is learned There is variation in behavior among groups There is variation in behavior between groups Obviously chimps can invent new behaviors and pass them on socially Some researchers call these differences customs or think of the groups as different cultures Bonobos Pan paniscus Estimated to have branched off from the chimpanzee about 930 000 years ago Like the chimp has a dominance hierarchy But little aggression involved in establishing the hierarchy in males Female hierarchy appears based on seniority Females may dominate males Mother s bond with children remains strong Mothers nurse and care for young about 5 years Give birth every 5 6 years Mother with 2 year old child Follow fusion fission group behavior Group of about 100 bonobo sleep in same area Split into smaller groups during day to forage Mainly frugivorous Females are always sexually receptive Sexual activity is used as social glue to prevent violence ease tension offer greeting reconcile or for reassurance Bonobos are more peaceful and gregarious than chimpanzees They share food including meat They rarely hunt they hunt individually for very small game squirrel tiny antelope Chimps make and use tools to obtain food or water Bonobos make and use tools but never for obtaining food Ethnographic Analogy Study of a contemporary or historically recorded human group to use as a model for interpretation In addition to looking at relatively unrelated primates such as baboons for analogies for possible early human behavior We look to modern or historic human societies who live without much technology In particular we have targeted hunter gatherer and forager groups who rely on wild game and plants ALL humans lived this way until about 12 000 yrs ago In recent history these have included Eskimo Inuit Australian aborigines Some Philippine groups Kung San or Ju hoansi of southern Africa Kalahari Desert Some 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 offspring Often have home range seasonal cycles Band may have flexible membership Usually 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 similarities among baboons chimpanzees bonobos and humans A social structure built around a family unit Mother child bond is especially strong Mutual aid within a group long term friendships Defense of the group Presence of a home range or territory Recognition of individuals and their differential standings within the group So perhaps we might expect these behaviors or adaptations in the earliest humans
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