Somebody proposed that our group read and discuss "Our Inner Ape" by Frans de Waal. I thought it was nutty. I mean, c'mon! Apes? But, boy, was I off! Listen to de Waal discuss observations of chimps, bonobos and many other primates, both in captivity and in the wild. We humans do many of the same things, often with a slightly different twist but close enough to make clear that we are indeed primates.
Get in a fight over a female? Check. Show an interest and ability to reconcile after a fight? Check. Patrol the group's territory, looking for strangers, intruders and kill them? Check. Females tend to shy away from aggression with males? Check. Females gang up on males that are overly persistent in their pursuits? Check. Differ to elders? Check.
De Waal writes:
Like chimpanzees, people are strongly territorial and value the lives of those outside their group less than those within. It has been speculated that chimpanzees would not hesitate to use knives and guns if they had them, and similarly, preliterate people would probably not hesitate to escalate their conflicts if they had the technology. An anthropologist once told me about two Eipo-Papuan village heads in New Guinea who were taking their first trip on a little airplane. They were not afraid to board the plane, but made a puzzling request: they wanted the side door to remain open. They were warned that it was cold up in the sky and that, since they wore nothing but their traditional penis sheaths, they would freeze. The men didn't care. They wanted to bring along some heavy rocks, which, if the pilot would be so kind as to circle over the next village, they could shove through the open door and drop onto their enemies. In the evening, the anthropologist wrote in his diary that he had witnessed the invention of the bomb by neolithic man.
Just as college students scratch their heads during a tough exam, self-scratching in other primates indicates unease. If one takes notes on self-scratching, as some researchers have done, it turns out that both parties involved in a fight scratch themselves a lot, but stop after having been groomed by their opponent. We can surmise that they were worried about their relationship and reassured by the reunion.
Waal, Frans de (2006-08-01). Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are (pp. 136, 151). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
