Christophe Boesch - Böcker

Human nature is enigmatic. Are we cruel, selfish creatures or good merciful Samaritans? This book takes you on a journey into the complexities of human mind and kind, from altruism, sharing, and large-scale cooperation, to cheating, distrust, and warfare. What are the building blocks of morality and sociality?Featuring contributions from leading researchers, such as Christophe Boesch, Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Azar Gat, Dennis Krebs, Ara Norenzayan, and Frans B. M. de Waal, this fascinating interdisciplinary reader draws on evolutionary and comparative perspectives, and is essential reading for any students interested in the unique characteristics that define humanity and society.

Human nature is enigmatic. Are we cruel, selfish creatures or good merciful Samaritans? This book takes you on a journey into the complexities of human mind and kind, from altruism, sharing, and large-scale cooperation, to cheating, distrust, and warfare. What are the building blocks of morality and sociality?Featuring contributions from leading researchers, such as Christophe Boesch, Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Azar Gat, Dennis Krebs, Ara Norenzayan, and Frans B. M. de Waal, this fascinating interdisciplinary reader draws on evolutionary and comparative perspectives, and is essential reading for any students interested in the unique characteristics that define humanity and society.

These compelling stories and photographs take us to places like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, Ivindo National Park in Gabon, and the Tai National Park in Cote d'Ivoire for an intimate and revealing look at the lives of African wild apes - and at the lives of the humans who study them. In tales of adventure, research, and conservation, veteran field researchers and conservationists describe exciting discoveries made over the past few decades about chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. This book features vivid descriptions of interactions among these highly intelligent creatures as they hunt, socialize, and play. More difficult themes emerge as well, including the threats apes face from poaching, disease, and deforestation. In stories that are often moving and highly personal, this book takes measure of how special the great apes are and discusses positive conservation efforts, including ecotourism, that can help bring these magnificent animals back from the brink of extinction.

These compelling stories and photographs take us to places like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, Ivindo National Park in Gabon, and the Tai National Park in Cote d'Ivoire for an intimate and revealing look at the lives of African wild apes--and at the lives of the humans who study them. In tales of adventure, research, and conservation, veteran field researchers and conservationists describe exciting discoveries made over the past few decades about chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. The book features vivid descriptions of interactions among these highly intelligent creatures as they hunt, socialize, and play. More difficult themes emerge as well, including the threats apes face from poaching, disease, and deforestation. In stories that are often moving and highly personal, this book takes measure of how special the great apes are and discusses positive conservation efforts, including ecotourism, that can help bring these magnificent animals back from the brink of extinction.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), otherwise known as pygmy chimpanzees, are the only two species of the genus Pan. As they are our nearest relatives, there has been much research devoted to investigating the similarities and differences between them. This book offers an extensive review of the most recent observations to come from field studies on the diversity of Pan social behaviour, with contributions from many of the world's leading experts in this field. A wide range of social behaviours is discussed including tool use, hunting, reproductive strategies and conflict management as well as demographic variables and ecological constraints. In addition to interspecies behavioural diversity, this text describes exciting new research into variations between different populations of the same species. Researchers and students working in the fields of primatology, anthropology and zoology will find this a fascinating read.

The Real Chimpanzee encapsulates the fascinating behaviour of wild chimpanzees and discusses the differences observed in different populations across the species, and across the many levels of their social behaviour. It explains why sex competition and predation pressures in a forest chimpanzee population made the females of the group highly social and gave the males a high level of within-group solidarity, making them very xenophobic towards outsiders. Love is what makes war possible. Christophe Boesch brings back to the table the debate over ecological pressures and social organization, and the influence they have over issues such as the evolution of warfare, co-operation, altruism and the position of females. Written in an accessible style for a general audience as well as for undergraduate and graduate students, he presents insightful views to give readers the background information to understand the struggle for survival of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, and through this to find some keys to the ever-so-intriguing question of what makes us human.

The Real Chimpanzee encapsulates the fascinating behaviour of wild chimpanzees and discusses the differences observed in different populations across the species, and across the many levels of their social behaviour. It explains why sex competition and predation pressures in a forest chimpanzee population made the females of the group highly social and gave the males a high level of within-group solidarity, making them very xenophobic towards outsiders. Love is what makes war possible. Christophe Boesch brings back to the table the debate over ecological pressures and social organization, and the influence they have over issues such as the evolution of warfare, co-operation, altruism and the position of females. Written in an accessible style for a general audience as well as for undergraduate and graduate students, he presents insightful views to give readers the background information to understand the struggle for survival of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, and through this to find some keys to the ever-so-intriguing question of what makes us human.

Why do males of some species live with a single mate when they are capable of fertilizing more than one female's eggs? Why do some females pair only with one male, and not with several partners? Why do birds usually live in pairs and feed chicks together whilst mammals often live in larger groups with females rearing their young without male help? These questions form the central theme of this book. Social monogamy is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that does not always correspond with reproductive monogamy, so a paired male may not necessarily be raising his own offspring. Exploring the variables influencing and maintaining the fascinating diversity of social, sexual and reproductive monogamous partnerships in birds, mammals and humans, this book provides clues to the biological roots of monogamy for students and researchers in behavioural ecology, evolutionary anthropology, primatology, zoology and ornithology.

Why do males of some species live with a single mate when they are capable of fertilizing more than one female's eggs? Why do some females pair only with one male, and not with several partners? Why do birds usually live in pairs and feed chicks together whilst mammals often live in larger groups with females rearing their young without male help? These questions form the central theme of this book. Social monogamy is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that does not always correspond with reproductive monogamy, so a paired male may not necessarily be raising his own offspring. Exploring the variables influencing and maintaining the fascinating diversity of social, sexual and reproductive monogamous partnerships in birds, mammals and humans, this book provides clues to the biological roots of monogamy for students and researchers in behavioural ecology, evolutionary anthropology, primatology, zoology and ornithology.

Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates focuses on evolutionary perspectives of the complex interactions between the environment, food sources, physiology and behaviour in primates. This highly interdisciplinary volume provides a benchmark to assess dietary alterations that affected human evolution by putting the focus on the diet of hominid primates. It also offers a fresh perspective on the behavioural ecology of the last common ancestor by integrating corresponding information from both human and non-human primates. The potential of innovations of applied biotechnology are also explored to set new standards for future research on feeding ecology, and new information on feeding ecology in humans, apes and other primates is synthesized to help refine or modify current models of socioecology. By taking a comparative view, this book will be interesting to primatologists, anthropologists, behavioural ecologists and evolutionary biologists who want to understand better non-human primates, and the primate that is us.

The last decade has witnessed remarkable discoveries and advances in our understanding of the tool using behaviour of animals. Wild populations of capuchin monkeys have been observed to crack open nuts with stone tools, similar to the skills of chimpanzees and humans. Corvids have been observed to use and make tools that rival in complexity the behaviours exhibited by the great apes. Excavations of the nut cracking sites of chimpanzees have been dated to around 4-5 thousand years ago. Tool Use in Animals collates these and many more contributions by leading scholars in psychology, biology and anthropology, along with supplementary online materials, into a comprehensive assessment of the cognitive abilities and environmental forces shaping these behaviours in taxa as distantly related as primates and corvids.

How do chimpanzees say, 'I want to have sex with you?' By clipping a leaf or knocking on a tree trunk? How do they eat live aggressive ants? By using a short stick with one hand or long stick with both? Ivorian and Tanzanian chimpanzees answer these questions differently, as would humans from France and China if asked how they eat rice. Christophe Boesch takes readers into the lives of chimpanzees from different African regions, highlighting the debate about culture. His ethnography reveals how simple techniques have evolved into complex ones, how teaching styles differ, how material culture widens access to new food sources and how youngsters learn culture. This journey reveals many parallels between humans and chimpanzees and points to striking differences. Written in a vivid and accessible style, Wild Cultures places the reader in social and ecological contexts that shed light on our twin cultures.

Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates focuses on evolutionary perspectives of the complex interactions between the environment, food sources, physiology and behaviour in primates. This highly interdisciplinary volume provides a benchmark to assess dietary alterations that affected human evolution by putting the focus on the diet of hominid primates. It also offers a fresh perspective on the behavioural ecology of the last common ancestor by integrating corresponding information from both human and non-human primates. The potential of innovations of applied biotechnology are also explored to set new standards for future research on feeding ecology, and new information on feeding ecology in humans, apes and other primates is synthesized to help refine or modify current models of socioecology. By taking a comparative view, this book will be interesting to primatologists, anthropologists, behavioural ecologists and evolutionary biologists who want to understand better non-human primates, and the primate that is us.

The last decade has witnessed remarkable discoveries and advances in our understanding of the tool using behaviour of animals. Wild populations of capuchin monkeys have been observed to crack open nuts with stone tools, similar to the skills of chimpanzees and humans. Corvids have been observed to use and make tools that rival in complexity the behaviours exhibited by the great apes. Excavations of the nut cracking sites of chimpanzees have been dated to around 4-5 thousand years ago. Tool Use in Animals collates these and many more contributions by leading scholars in psychology, biology and anthropology, along with supplementary online materials, into a comprehensive assessment of the cognitive abilities and environmental forces shaping these behaviours in taxa as distantly related as primates and corvids.

How do chimpanzees say, 'I want to have sex with you?' By clipping a leaf or knocking on a tree trunk? How do they eat live aggressive ants? By using a short stick with one hand or long stick with both? Ivorian and Tanzanian chimpanzees answer these questions differently, as would humans from France and China if asked how they eat rice. Christophe Boesch takes readers into the lives of chimpanzees from different African regions, highlighting the debate about culture. His ethnography reveals how simple techniques have evolved into complex ones, how teaching styles differ, how material culture widens access to new food sources and how youngsters learn culture. This journey reveals many parallels between humans and chimpanzees and points to striking differences. Written in a vivid and accessible style, Wild Cultures places the reader in social and ecological contexts that shed light on our twin cultures.

The Taï Chimpanzee Project (Taï National Park, Cote D'Ivoire) has yielded unprecedented insights into the nature of cooperation, cognition, and culture in our closest living relatives. Founded in 1979 by Christophe and Hedwige Boesch, the project has entered its 40th year of continuous research. Alongside other famous long-term chimpanzee study sites at Gombe and Mahale in East Africa, the tireless work of the team at Taï has contributed to the fields of behavioural ecology and anthropology, as well as improving public awareness of the urgent need to protect this already endangered species. Encompassing important research topics including chimpanzee ecology, reproductive behaviour, tool use, culture, communication, cognition and conservation, this book provides an engaging account of how Taï chimpanzees are adapted to African jungle life and how they have developed unique forms of cooperation with less violence, regular adoptions and complex cultural differences between groups.