Understanding Behavior: What Primate Studies Tell Us About Human Behavior

Scientific studies of monkeys, apes, and other nonhuman primates began just over 50 years ago. Since then tens of thousands of hours of observation have been made on these animals in the wild and in captivity. The chief rationale for scientific primatology has always been the belief that mportant insights into human behavior and society could be gained through studies of our evolutionary kin. This book reviews what we have learned. Distinguished researchers outline primatological insights in six areas: sex, parenting, behavioral development, aggression/dominance, culture and kinship. The chapters show how primates have been used as simplified models of human behaviors and how they have contributed to scenarios of human evolution. Lay readers, students, and specialists alike will find this a readable and useful compendium of the findings of scientific primatology.

Calvin B. Peters, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Rhode Island.