Product Description
Anthropologists have traditionally ignored the New Worldprimates because they are not in the mainstream of evolution leadingto the human species. Yet, because they exhibit parallel adaptationsto those of apes and Old World monkeys – tool use, a wider varietyof mating systems, and parallels to human language - they provide uswith a unique source of information. This book, whose contributors areleading experts on various aspects of New World monkeys, explores thetremendous diversity to be found among neotropical primate speciesthat have adapted to the highly varied Central and South Americanecosystems. These studies provide striking similarities to, as well asintriguing differences from, the heretofore better known adaptationsin the Old World. In the process, they shed new light upon theevolutionary process as it is played out among our primate relationson a neotropical stage.

Part Two of the book consists of an authoritative synopsis completed before his death by the late Dr. Kinzey, describing basic behavior for each genus of the sixteen known New World genera, along with maps locating their habitats. ... Read more

Product Description
Primate researcher Prince-Hughes has compressed years ofgorilla observation into a composite diary chronicling the days of onegorilla family, capturing significant observations on diet,communication, aesthetic preferences, social behavior, and play-oftenleading to thought-provoking meditations on human values. Readers willlearn something new about gorillas-and themselves-on every page ofthis poignant story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Touching and Moving
I have great respect for Dr Prince-Hughes and have read most of her books.The understanding of the Gorillas she brings to us in this and her other book "Songs of the Gorilla Nation" have touched me deeply. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a series of integrated papers on the latest techniques and concepts for understanding the fossil record of primates; including humans. Papers review the dating of primate fossil finds from many areas of the world, as well as the status and importance of recent discoveries of fossils linking the monkeys and apes to humans. Further contributions compare the anatomy and growth of living primates to that of the ancestral animals in order to give an understanding of trends in evolution. A final section discusses the application of recently developed genetic techniques to interpret and explain the evolution of primates. By presenting the most recent research, this volume provides a valuable synthesis of the new developments in primate and human evolution. ... Read more

Product Description
This book explores the role of aggression in primate social systems and its implications for human behavior. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a complete account of the 18th International Taniguchi Symposium on Brain Sciences, held on the island of Hawaii, February 5-8, 1995. The first part of this comprehensive volume examines emotion, including the limbic system, animal models of autism, the neuronal mechanism of emotion and behavior, and a PET study on depression. The second section focuses on the brain mechanisms of memory and covers the hippocampal place code, long-term and short-term memory, and neuro-psychological studies on amnesic patients. The final part covers brain mechanisms of normal and abnormal behavior, visual processing within the temporal cortex, perception of geometric illusions, inhibition and facilitation of visual-motor links, self-mutilation, and a neuroanatomical study on cognitive aging. A neurochemical study on sleep and wakefulness is included. This reference will be useful in furthering not only basic neuroscience but also neuropsychiatry in years to come. ... Read more

Product Description
'A valuable addition to the series on the cerebral cortex andshould be available as a reference work in any department withinterests indevelopmental neuroscience.'--CambridgeJournals ofAnatomy, from a review of a previous volume Thecurrent volumefocuses on the intrinsic structural and functionalaspects of area17. ... Read more

Product Description
Brings an interdisciplinary approach to an exciting area of behavioural science research. 14 contributions look at the evolution of cultural behaviour from an evolutionary perspective. ... Read more

Product Description
In order to meld the facts of organic diversity with thecontinuity of the evolutionary process, this volume details thediversity oftheoretical perspectives and methodological approachescurrentlyemployed by primate evolutionary biologists andpaleontologists.Specific coverage includes: species concepts andtheir role inevolutionary theory, the speciation process and thebiology ofspecies differences among living primates, and theproblems ofspecies recognition in the primate fossil record. ... Read more

Product Description
Successful reproduction is not always a cooperative affair, but rather a competition between males, with females having the final "say."Throughout there is conflict regarding when, with whom and how often mating should occur. This volume provides the first comprehensive summary of the various forms of sexual communication and behavior and the consequences of the interaction between the sexes. ... Read more

Product Description

Indonesia possesses the second largest primate population in the world, with over 33 different primate species. Although Brazil possesses more primate species, Indonesia outranks it in terms of its diversity of primates, ranging from prosimians (slow lorises and tarsiers), to a multitude of Old World Monkey species (macaques, langurs, proboscis moneys) to lesser apes (siamangs, gibbons) and great apes (orangutans). The primates of Indonesia are distributed throughout the archipelago.

Partly in response to the number of primates distributed throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesia is classified as the home of two biodiversity hotspots (Wallacea and Sundaland). In order to be classified as a hotspot, an area must have a large proportion of endemic species coupled with a high degree of threat including having lost more than 70% of its original habitat. Two areas within Indonesia meet these criteria. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, created a need for this volume.

Product Description

This book compares the beginning of symbolic thought in human infancy with that of our close primate relatives, the chimpanzees. The author investigates the precursors of symbolism by studying the actions and interactions of a small group of these intelligent, non-human primates who live in Singapore Zoo.

Drawing upon his years of detailed observations, Matthews offers an in-depth analysis and interpretation of chimp behaviour to present an unprecedented account of the beginnings of symbolic thought. The book shows that the actions the chimpanzees perform have structural and semantic similarities with the actions of emergent expression and representation we find in human infancy. Of great importance is the finding that chimpanzee mark-making activity is not an artefact of human interference, but part of chimpanzee culture. Young chimpanzees seem to be introduced to acts of pretence and imagination by older and more experienced ones and taught the rudiments of expression, representation and symbolism.

The implications for our understanding of symbolism, language, art and education are enormous, as are those about our origins and our place within nature. The book is written in an accessible style for both specialist and non-specialist readers, and illustrated with the author’s drawings and photographs.

Product Description
Primate and Human Evolution provides a synthesis of the evolution and adaptive significance of human anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits. Using paleontology and modern human variation and biology, it compares hominid traits to those of other catarrhine primates both living and extinct, presenting a new hominization model that does not depend solely on global climate change, but on predictable trends observed in catarrhines. Dealing with the origins of hominid tool use and tool manufacture, it compares tool behavior in other animals and incorporates information from the earliest archaeological record. Examining the use of non-human primates and other mammals in modeling the origins of early human social behavior, Susan Cachel argues that human intelligence does not arise from complex social interactions, but from attentiveness to the natural world.This book will be a rich source of inspiration for all those interested in the evolution of all primates, including ourselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

everything you wanted to know about primate evolution
Dr. Cachel's book is a treasure for anyone who really wants to understand the subject in depth. With a huge reference section, she places most of the current literature in context and summarizes results of most of the references, adding her own perspective. The book's strength, however, is also its weakness. In covering so much material, she has little room for the extra verbiage someone not familiar with the subject needs to fully understand it. I read it with an unabridged dictionary nearby, andI got the in-depth review I wanted. Many readers less interested in the subject may have trouble getting through it. She provides solid information and interesting perspectives, and a dedicated reader will not be left wanting.

Surprising and Interesting New Views
Although not intended to be an introductory book in physical anthropology, the material covered includes most of the topics addressed in such texts. The prime focus of the book however is to present some new ideas in the fundamental relationship between humans and other Old World higher primates.

The new ideas are based on both new interpretations of historical findings and newer findings based on the behavioral distinctiveness of humans and other primates. A particular point of Dr. Cachel is that the behavior of living non-human primates yields no special insight into the origins of human intelligence, tool behavior, or sociality. Her conclusions are based on archeological records which show an attentiveness to the natural world being a major trigger for hominization, rather than the climatic change usually considered the driving force.

While these ideas may conflict with the generally accepted views, her analysis of the existing evidence is exhaustive and very well presented. ... Read more

Product Description
This unique book carries out a comprehensive reconstruction of the evolutionary history of living and fossil primates. The text takes a comparative approach and covers the broadest possible spectrum of evidence. Although emphasis is placed on reviews of the anatomical characteristics of such species seen in a functional context, attention is also given both to evidence from the chromosomal level and to comparative molecular evidence. The tree-shrews, once thought to provide an approximate model for the ancestral primates, are repeatedly shown to differ from them significantly in key features. The primary objective throughout the book is the identification of such key characteristics in the earliest primates and investigation of the fate of these features during the subsequent evolution of the group. The major events of human evolution are examined in a broad evolutionary context, thus avoiding the ad hoc arguments that commonly result from narrow comparisons. This book will be of special interest to advanced students of anthropology and zoology, in particular to primatologists and evolutionary biologists and those concerned with mammals generally. Since technical terminology has been explained throughout, the book will also be accessible to a wide audience of people interested in primate evolution. ... Read more

Product Description
These original contributions on the evolution of primates and the techniques for studying the subject cover an enormous range of material and incorporate the work of specialists from many different fields, showing the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to problems of primate morphology and phylogeny. Collectively, they demonstrate the concerns and methods of leading contemporary workers in this and related fields. Each contributor shows his way of attacking fundamental problems of evolutionary primatology. ... Read more