Humans are considered primates, obviously mean they have many physical and genetic similarities to non-human primates such as Apes and Chimpanzees. As mentioned before in this course, studying evolution opens up many more avenues of fully understanding human genetics and even being able to think about the future. Being able to study non-human primates over time also really helps us understand our species better as well. We have the obvious differences such as language, behavioral instincts, etc., but there are so many similarities that really link us together. Mentioned in the first lecture, observing the non-human primates specific physical and behavioral traits really do help us answer why we do and think the ways we do.

From the first lecture, I learned so much and realized how many similarities humans and nonhuman primates actually share. I was first surprised learning about tails and our grasping abilities and digits. I commonly think how chimpanzees maneuver and are in trees a lot of their time, but never linked it to our ancestors must of as well. I could see we had similarities in our hands but again, never linked it to being a needed tool for being dependent on trees. There are other similarities such as our great vision for detecting objects, but the most interesting to me was how much we really learn at young ages by our parents. When you think about how you act, many times believe, how you know to communicate and survive, come from what our parents have taught us at a young age. They started talking to us and comforting us from the beginning, so we adapted to that. Like humans, non-human primates are big learners which means it takes a lot of time to grow up and listen and watch the parents. Psychologist Harry Harlow conducted one of the many experiments involving this concept of learning and needing a parent from being an infant. This experiment involved putting baby monkeys in a cage with a wire “mom” that would feed the babies milk and then a cloth “mom” that didn’t provide any nutrients. The babies would always chose the cloth mother. This shows how even non-human primates need comfort and a sense of protection, like we do. We all know humans have a ton of emotions and this really shows how much these primates are similar to us in that aspect of wanting an emotional bond. Also this links with how studying evolution is so important because of how they learn depending on environment and other aspects like that really matter in survival.

When studying evolution I think its so important and beneficial for us to learn and study non-human primates as well. I think this because of the similarities of behavioral really link to many things such as communication and social ques. Knowing these similarities though, also are good to note the differences of how we as human understand our origins to the fullest.