Non-Human Primates Culture Assignment
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Added on 2020-04-21
Non-Human Primates Culture Assignment
Added on 2020-04-21
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Running head: DO NON-HUMAN PRIMATES HAVE CULTURE?Do non-human primates have culture?Name of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor’s Note
1DO NON-HUMAN PRIMATES HAVE CULTURE?IntroductionCulture is the extra somatic character of human being, is a complex whole. It incorporatesknowledge, art, belief, morals, customs, laws and any other characteristics inhabited by man as apart of the society. Social behavior on the other hand is the behavior directed towards the societyor taking place between members of the same species. Both culture and social behavior are theexclusive characteristics inherited by man as they are the only one to live in a social grouping.To be precise, the primates are the only animals that forms social group. Man being a part of theorder primate reflects the highest specialization in case of social grouping and social behaviorthat lead to the formation of culture. This social behavior and possibly culture is present in someother higher group of primate. This question is under constant debate over decades if the non-human primates have culture. This study will focus on the social behavior of the non-humanprimates and seek evidence of culture among them. It will further relate to the pre-human formsto assume their behavior.Behavior of Non-human PrimatesThe social behavior of the non-human primates explores a wide range due to theirarboreal and terrestrial nature. Almost all the non-human primates enjoy strong social bondingand lives in organized social groups. Some of the social behavior of different non-human primateis expressed in the following section.CommunicationPika and Liebal (2012) identified a wide range of communication mechanism existsamong the non-human primates. However, none of them have articulated any kind of verballanguage. They use their bodily parts for their communication within the group. They can be like
2DO NON-HUMAN PRIMATES HAVE CULTURE?making sound, facial expression and gesture, olfactory signals, grooming and touching. Thefacial expression is believed to convey their psychological state. Moreover, they use their gestureto communicate with other animals for defending their home ground. It is a mechanism used bythe primates for displaying threat for intimidating other animals. It includes grunting, yawning,ground slapping, branch shaking and many more to threaten the predators and keep them awayfrom their territory and group members. Smelling mechanism on the other hand is prevalentamong the prosimian monkeys. They use to mark their territory. Grooming is another mode ofcommunication among the non-human primates. It is evident in every group of primate. It isbelieved to increase the social bonding of the group members and reflects their affection towardseach others. Hence, for the non-human primates, grooming is more than just a mechanism tokeep them hygiene. They are likely to sit in a circle formation and groom the member sitting infront of them. Selection of mate and groupingEmery Thompson (2013) on the other hand focused his study on the mate selectionmechanism prevails in different types of non-human primate and the type of grouping. Theorangutans, lemurs and galagos are the only groups that follow single mother and offspringgrouping. The males usually lead their lives alone for the most of the time. They only connect totheir groups during the mating season. Gibbons on the other hand lives a follows themonogamous grouping where the male and the female lives with their offspring. Polygynousmating is prevalent among gorillas. It is the concept of single male multiple female. The mostprevalent mating that is found among most the non-human primates is the multi-female, multi-male where the no stable heterosexual bond is evidenced. The group members cumulatively
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