The study of primates is not as simple and straightforward as one might initially believe. Theirs’ is a complex world of interaction. In many ways highly similar to that of humans. This intricacy has led to the need for scientists to redefine what being human truly means. For upon studying primates a social milieu was revealed. Primates were seen expressing themselves through different behaviors. In addition, their societies are intricately organized and they form enduring relationships. These behaviors are held to be the result of evolution, that natural selection favors those that display social tendencies. Essentially, those tendencies that promote survival and reproduction (Larsen, 2011). Their forms of expression cover a range of behaviors,
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This task is exponentially increased for the mothers who not only must consume more while nursing but also find and process food for their young. Without adequate nutrition the mother’s well-being is compromised and the infant endangered. Therefore, they need quality foods that contain energy that are readily available and are located within a small area (Larsen, 2011). For most primates is includes fruit, but also leaves, nuts, and insects. Tarsiers are the only completely carnivorous primates, exclusively eating crustaceans, insects, small vertebrates and snakes. Capuchin monkeys show a wide diversity in their diets. They eat anything from flowers and nectar to lizards, bats, and squirrels …show more content…
To this point only humans were believed to possess material culture. Now chimps were not only using a tool but teaching their young how to do so. The fact that this is a learned behavior and not simply instinct is seen in that only certain groups in specific areas use this method. Chimps in other parts of Africa do not demonstrate this ability. Other groups of chimps employ rocks to crack open nuts while groups elsewhere use sharpened sticks to hunt prey (Primates). Although chimpanzees do not rely on material culture for survival, they still create and perpetuate such (Larsen,
This task is exponentially increased for the mothers who not only must consume more while nursing but also find and process food for their young. Without adequate nutrition the mother’s well-being is compromised and the infant endangered. Therefore, they need quality foods that contain energy that are readily available and are located within a small area (Larsen, 2011). For most primates is includes fruit, but also leaves, nuts, and insects. Tarsiers are the only completely carnivorous primates, exclusively eating crustaceans, insects, small vertebrates and snakes. Capuchin monkeys show a wide diversity in their diets. They eat anything from flowers and nectar to lizards, bats, and squirrels …show more content…
To this point only humans were believed to possess material culture. Now chimps were not only using a tool but teaching their young how to do so. The fact that this is a learned behavior and not simply instinct is seen in that only certain groups in specific areas use this method. Chimps in other parts of Africa do not demonstrate this ability. Other groups of chimps employ rocks to crack open nuts while groups elsewhere use sharpened sticks to hunt prey (Primates). Although chimpanzees do not rely on material culture for survival, they still create and perpetuate such (Larsen,