Great Ape Societies

Description

The Great Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) are our closest living relatives, sharing a common ancestor only five million years ago. We also share key features such as high intelligence, omnivorous diets, prolonged child-rearing and rich social lives. The Great Apes show a surprising diversity of adaptations, particularly in social life, ranging from the solitary life of orangutans, through patriarchy in gorillas to complex but different social organizations in bonobos and chimpanzees. As Great Apes are so close to humans, comparisons yield essential knowledge for modeling human evolutionary origins. Great Ape Societies provides comprehensive up-to-date syntheses of work on all four species, drawing on decades of international field work, zoo and laboratory studies. It will be essential reading for students and researchers in primatology, anthropology, psychology and human evolution.

'This is an excellent book and the editors deserve praise for the efforts they have made to ensure that the chapters are of a uniformly high standard. The book will be a valuable source both for front-line researchers and those seeking an overview of contemporary research on great apes.' R. I. M. Dunbar, Trends in Ecology and Evolution 'Great Ape Societies is predictably good, given the concentration of expertise found within ... an excellent statement of the state of research, suitable for advanced undergraduates or above.' Thomas Sambrook, THES 'McGrew, Marchant and Nishida succeed in giving a flavour of important patterns emerging from a whole host of studies with these charismatic animals.' Lindsay Murray, BBC Wildlife ' ... every chapter contains much that is interesting, synthetic and important ... It sets high standards for the next 20 years of research and publication on the great apes.' P. C. Lee, Animal Behaviour '... excellent book.' Pia Nystrom, Journal of Human Evolution ' ... a great addition to the literature ... It is essential reading for all primatologists and anthropologists.' David J. Chivers, Primate Eye