In the lecture, it was stated that primates live in groups even though that is the most intense competition for resources. Even with this competitiveness involved in everyday life, they choose to live in groups due to danger, food and sex. These three things are the key to a successful life for primates, so the competition seems like a small thing to deal with in exchange for that. It’s interesting to see that competition is not just human nature but other primates as well. This information helps us better understand the commonalities between homo sapiens and other hominids.
When I think about evolution, I do not necessarily not believe they theory, but I also do not necessarily live by it. So, when I read “Our True Dawn” by Catherine Brahic it was interesting to think about the questions she pointed. She stated that one of the biggest and hardest questions in human evolution is, “How far back do you have to go, how many generations have to pass, before the two lines meet up?” This was interesting to me because even when I do think about evolution, I never really thought about it through this lens. The part of the question that stuck out to me is the passing of generations because that really puts things into more of an understanding perspective for me. Brahic also talked about the rewriting of human prehistory due to clashing discoveries. This just goes to show that even though we have uncovered so much information over time, we still do not know enough, definitely not everything.
Another article that interested me was “What is War Good For? Ask a Chimpanzee?” by Wayman. Reading this article was eye opening because it showed me how chimpanzees and humans can use violence to obtain what they want. It showed me the similarities we have. However, the interesting part of this article was when Wayman stated that the similarities of violence we have are not due to common ancestry but due to similar qualities in social life that favor violence. This point was proved by comparing chimpanzee wars and spider-monkey wars. We may have more recent history with chimpanzees, but it was stated that we have been separated from spider-monkey evolution by about 35 million years. Another species of great ape, the bonobo has a similar social system. However, they are peaceful possibly due to being female-centered species stated Wayman. All of these examples were interesting because they showed that violence is common between primates, but it is not due to the reasons we might assume.
We can better understand our own biology, behavior, and culture with the study of non-human primates by keeping an open mind to new ideas while we continue to dig deeper and find more answers. Reading the articles and watching the videos from this week showed how much we know but also how much we do not know.
I really like how you brought back this idea of evolution and its connection to this week’s lecture. To think of evolution through the lens of intersecting accessorial lines, with shared behavioral and psychical characteristics is not how we have thought of evolution in the past. It was also important to mention the clashing discoveries because it highlights all the information we still do not know or have confirmed. You mention the flaws in the way we look at our connection to non-human primates when you discuss the article “What is War Good For? Ask a Chimpanzee?”. In that article, they find that there is a connection between chimpanzees and humans not because of shared ancestor but rather shared circumstances. That’s why I like that you point out that the reasons are not always what we might assume them to be.
Hello Kajal, first I would like to say is that you pointed out a great reference about how primates live in groups even if the value of resources is very competitive. When you wrote about how the evolution of primates is not what you believe is true. I can personally agree that when “Our True Dawn” stated “How far should we go back” I believe that history writes itself, well I mean that we write our own history based on what we think is true based on studying something for only a few days. However, I think of primates in relation to humans may have similar body features or maybe even social groups. But I agree when you said we can fully understand our biology by keeping an open mind of the world.