Research on Physical Anthropology

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Table of Contents

Got Culture? Craig Stanford
Dim Forest, Bright Chimps, Boesch and Boesch-Achermann
What Are Friends For? Barbara Smuts
What’s Love Got to Do with it? Meredith Small
Mothers and Others, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Works Cited

Got Culture? Craig Stanford

According to Craig Stanford, culture refers to a set of traditions, linguistic, dress codes, cuisine, and other social features (Stanford 50). In the article, Stanford claims that Chimpanzees, just like humans, exhibit culture. He argues that Chimpanzees have tool cultures. Using an example of chimpanzees from Gombe National Park in Tanzania, the author illustrates that the apes are able to fish for termites using twigs. He also argues that the apes share their kill illustrating that they have a culture. Similarly, he points out that chimpanzee society is founded on acquired conducts passed from mothers to youngsters and from mature males to keen aspiring males. The conduct varies from one region to another. The above illustrations indicate that chimpanzees have a culture.

Stanford asserts that chimpanzees utilize symbolisms. He illustrated two ways through which the apes exhibit symbolism during courtship. Stanford argues that at Gombe the male chimps have a habit of shaking leaves to attract a female during the mating session. Other chips illustrate the second symbolism by grooming leaves or bushes as if they are grooming other chimps.

Dim Forest, Bright Chimps, Boesch and Boesch-Achermann

In the article Dim Forest Bright Chimps, Boesch compares two types of chimpanzees. The apes compared are forest chimps and savanna chimps. He illustrates that forest chimps such as those found in Gombe have learned how to fish for termites (Boesch 50). Savanna chimps insert the twigs inside the termite nests. Thereafter, the soldier termites bite the twig allowing the chimp to draw the twigs between its teeth to reap the termites. Unlike the forest chimps, the savanna use stones to break nuts. The forest chimpanzees do not use hammers like their savanna counterparts. Similarly, the savanna chimps do not fish termites using termites. Similarly, savanna chimps have been known to hunt in groups and share their kill. Based on this, it is apparent that the habits were acquired independently over time.

The above habits resemble those of human ancestors. Anthropologists have found evidence indicating that human ancestors utilized crude tools such as those utilized by the chimps during hunting sessions. Notably, the tools varied based on the location of the human ancestors. Equally, human ancestors hunted in groups and shared their kill. Based on these resemblances, it is apparent that at one time human ancestors had primitive behaviors such as those exhibited by chimps. Notably, these behaviors have been perfected over time.

What Are Friends For? Barbara Smuts

Olive baboons exhibit a strong bond. Friendship is very important among these primates. As illustrated by Barbara Smuts, olive baboons have to forage for long distances (Smuts 73). Similarly, the baboons spend much of their time grooming. With the above activities, friendship among the apes comes in handy. Through friendship, the baboons can be able to forage for long distances while others act as watch guards. Friendship also guarantees safety.

In the article, Smut asserts that females who form friendships with dominant males felt more secure and were less likely to be approached by other males. Through friendship, olive baboons are able to groom themselves. Thus, friendship plays an important role in ensuring that the baboons are free of pests such as mites, fleas, and ticks. In addition, friendship among the baboons guarantees sex. Smuts assert that male and female baboons who are friends more often engage in sex.

The need for the development of friendship among olive baboons arose from the need to secure their safety, companion, and sex. Through evolution, baboons have learned to hunt together and to live in groups.

What’s Love Got to Do with it? Meredith Small

The article majors on research focusing on bonobo apes. The major theme centers on how bonobos’ sexual conduct aids in the understanding of human evolution (Small 74). In the article, small illustrate that sexual activity is common among the bonobos. Unlike the chimps, bonobos have sex for pleasure. As such, male and female bonobos have regular sex to strengthen their social bonds. The author asserts that in the sight of food the apes usually engage in sexual activity. The activity is said to ease tension.

The use of sex as a tool for easing tension and building alliances is a very important topic with respect to the study of human sexuality. Given that the bonobos are more closely related to humans compared to the chimps, the study of their sexual activities might illustrate the evolution of human sexuality. There is a likelihood that the ancestors of humans perceived sex as a pleasant activity and relied on it to shape or break relations. Later, when humans developed family systems the role of sex transformed into the current state.

Mothers and Others, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

Mothers and Others’ key theme focuses on primates’ exclusive span childhood. The evolutionary logic behind collaborative breeding was the need to expand into new territories when foods were limited (Blaffer-Hrdy 89). Genetic affiliation is not a dependable predictor of love. Indications from toddlers and their perceptions of these indications matter a lot than genetic relatedness. Allomothers refers to persons other than the genetic mother that offers maternal support to the offspring. The author says human mothers need aid in rearing their children due to limited food resources and the need to form social bonds between the relatives and the infant.

Works Cited

Blaffer-Hrdy, Sarah. Mothers and Others. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Boesch, Christophe. Dim Forest, Bright Chimps. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Small, Meredith. What’s Love Got to Do with it?. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Smuts, Barbara. What Are Friends For?. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Stanford, Craig. Got Culture?. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

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