Higher Thinking

Chimps Are People, Too!

2007-11-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I've been quite busy lately and haven't had much time to work on anything new. But hopefully there will be alot more posts to come!

So, okay, I'll admit a chimpanzee is definately not a human. I would not even begin to think so. However, we are very closely related, and so we can learn alot about ourselves from learning about them. Just as one might learn alot about themselves from a sibling (or at least that was the case for me).

Anyways, I wanted to present this article from Science Daily. I think it will be worth your time to read...

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2007) — Chimpanzees in Senegal are regularly making and using spears to hunt other primates -- without human assistance -- according to research led by an Iowa State University anthropologist. That study, funded by the National Geographic Society, is the first to report habitual tool use by non-humans while hunting other vertebrates.

ISU Assistant Professor of Anthropology Jill Pruetz and Paco Bertolani -- a graduate student with the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Anthropology at the University of Cambridge in England -- documented 22 cases of the chimps fashioning tools to use in hunting smaller primates in cavities of hollow branches or tree trunks. They made the discovery at their research site in Fongoli, Senegal between March 2005 and July 2006.

A paper on the study, authored by Pruetz and Bertolani and titled "Savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) hunt with tools," will be published in the March 6 edition of "Current Biology." The article will be available online in the professional journal on Thursday, Feb. 22.

"We came upon the discovery quite unexpectedly," said Pruetz. "There were hints that this behavior might occur, but it was one time at a different site. Then I talked to my project manager (Bertolani) and he told me that he saw a female hunt with tools. When he looked through original data that was collected, we realized he had other evidence and observations of them probably doing the same thing. While in Senegal for the spring semester, I saw about 13 different hunting bouts. So it really is habitual."

Chimpanzees forcibly jabbed tools into hollow trunks or branches multiple times and smelled and/or licked them upon extraction. Only two of the 22 reported cases were seen as playful -- in the case of an infant male -- or exploratory in nature. In all other cases, chimps were judged by the researchers to use such force in inserting the tool that prey within the tree could have been injured. They witnessed just one case in which a chimpanzee extracted a bushbaby -- a smaller primate -- through use of the spear.

Females lead tool-assisted hunting

Despite the fact that hunting is predominantly an adult male chimpanzee activity, only one adult male (of 11 males in the community) was observed in the tool-assisted hunting. The reported incidents included one adult female, one adult male, three adolescent females, two adolescent males, one juvenile female, one juvenile male, and one infant male.

"In the chimp literature, there is a lot of discussion about hunting by adult males, because basically, they're the only ones that do it -- and they don't use tools," said Pruetz. "Females are rarely involved. And so this was just kind of astounding on a number of different levels. It's not only chimps hunting with tools, but females -- and the ones who hunted the most with them were adolescent females.

"It's classic in primates that when there is a new innovation, particularly in terms of tool use, the younger generations pick it up very quickly. The last ones to pick up are adults, mainly the males," she said. "This is because immatures learn from the ones they are most affiliated with, their mothers."

They authors conclude that these findings support a theory that females might have played a role in the evolution of tool technology among the earliest humans. Those technologies included hunting-related behavior, in addition to gathering-related activities.

"The combination of hunting and tool use at Fongoli, behaviors long considered hallmarks of our own species, makes the population especially intriguing," they wrote. "The observation that individuals hunting with tools include females and immature chimpanzees suggests that we should rethink traditional explanations for the evolution of such behavior in our own lineage. Learning more about the unique behaviors of chimpanzees in such an environment, before they disappear, can provide important clues about the challenges facing our earliest ancestors."

Four years spent habituating chimps

In order to make their observations, Pruetz and her team spent four years "habituating" the chimpanzees -- familiarizing them with humans -- over their 63-square-kilometer Fongoli study site. That process has changed over the years.

"You have to spend hours and hours attempting to follow them and keeping up with them and basically getting them used to you so they think you're just a benign presence," Pruetz said. "What researchers used to do once upon a time was to feed the chimps bananas, which got them used to humans very quickly. But this method causes problems. We know nowadays that there are a lot of diseases that can be passed from chimps to people and visa-versa. There are also ethical problems because the chimps at some sites got over-habituated to where they weren't fearful of humans and could cause harm to people."

Pruetz and her Iowa State graduate students are continuing their chimpanzee research in Senegal through additional National Geographic Society and Iowa State grants. Stephanie Bogart, an ISU doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology from West Palm Beach, Fla., is the project's current site manager.

The research during the study period was supported by grants from the National Geographic Society, Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University, ISU Foreign Travel Grant, ISU Faculty Professional Development Grant, and the American Society of Primatologists Conservation Grant.

Ricky Gervais Explains Creationism

2007-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hand of the Gods

2007-10-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Parable of a Madman by Friedrich Nietzsche:

Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly: "I seek God! I seek God!"---As many of those who did not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter. Has he got lost? asked one. Did he lose his way like a child? asked another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? emigrated?---Thus they yelled and laughed

The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. "Whither is God?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him---you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.

"How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whoever is born after us---for the sake of this deed he will belong to a higher history than all history hitherto."

Here the madman fell silent and looked again at his listeners; and they, too, were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern on the ground, and it broke into pieces and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time is not yet. This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering; it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time; the light of the stars requires time; deeds, though done, still require time to be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than most distant stars---and yet they have done it themselves.

It has been related further that on the same day the madman forced his way into several churches and there struck up his requiem aeternam deo. Led out and called to account, he is said always to have replied nothing but: "What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?"

Primate Genealogy for Dummies

2007-09-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

Introduction

They say the best way to insult a primatologist is to call an ape a monkey. I'm not a primatologist (yet), but I do still find the comparison insulting. How could one be so ignorant? You can see just by looking that an ape is not a monkey, and vice versa.

Now I know some of you who are reading this know the difference between the two. But I've come in contact with alot of people who don't.

So, to start, apes and modern monkeys split evolutionary tracks quite some time ago, which is why they look so different. Both apes and monkeys are still called primates, though, because they share a common ancestor. This ancestor was a shrew-like arboreal animal. So obviously, all primates, excluding humans and gorillas (who are uniquely terrestrial apes), have evolved along these lines.

Since the split, monkeys, having evolved into two different groups (as seen on the graphic below), make up the majority of the primates. However, the primate order also includes the apes, and a third grouping known as prosimians.

(Click to make larger)

The apes (Gorillas, Humans, Chimpanzees, Bonobos, Orangutans, Gibbons and Siamangs) make up only the Hominidae family. Monkeys constitute both the Old and New World Monkeys. The monkeys most closely related to the apes are the Old World Monkeys. Both families make up the infraorder Catarrhini, which evolved in the tropics of the old world (Eurasia and Africa). What separates them from the infraorder Platyrrhini (New World Monkeys), is that they have evolved features such as a larger brain size, more superior manual dexterity, and better hand-eye coordination.

The infraorder Platyrrhini evolved completely separately from the other primates in the lands of the new world (North and South America). Some of their unique characteristics include an extra pre-molar tooth, smaller brains, and a completely different cranial anatomy. Other characteristics include a more monkey-like anatomy, quadrapedal locomotion (note that apes such as Chimpanzees and Bonobos use bipedal locomotion at least 20% of the time, Humans are 100% bipedal), an exclusively arboreal lifestile, a retention of primitive primate dentition (also found in prosimians), and some species have prehensile tails.

The Prosimians feature a well developed sense of smell, partial binocular vision, claws on some digits, and immobilized upper lips. All of these characteristics are unique to prosimians. Most primates have a comparatively bad sense of smell, great binocular vision, no claws on their digits (instead having fingernails), and both the upper and lower lips are moveable. In fact, at first glance, it would almost seem that prosimians are not even primates. They have indeed done less evolving than the other primates have. Because of this, they are said to most closely resemble the common ancestor of all primates.

Apes versus Monkeys

Apes and monkeys are similar in many ways. For instance, both are hierarchical primates, and both (excluding humans) have large canine teeth. Both are cooperative and competitive. They are also very social and intelligent; traits which give them an advantage over predators. Though all but the humans lack a complex language, different species do have different calls for different types of predators. These range from hoots and whistles, to barks and screaches. Their social sturctures ensure that there is always an individual, or individuals, on watch for predators while the rest of the group goes about their bisiness.

They are both very altruistic animals, too. Both monkeys and apes show altruism towards one another, and members of other species. Humans have established many institutions for the protection of other species and each other; including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and the United Nations (UN), respectively. One instance of inter-species altruism was seen when a bonobo at a zoo gave assistance to an injured bird. Even though bonobos, and even Chimpanzees and Humans, are known for killing other animals in their search for food, they also exhibit altruistic tendencies toward them. The apes will also help each other out when it comes to things like obtaining food, getting to know a new group, or gaining political power. Monkeys, though not able to recognize their own reflection, are also able to show empathy for one another, though in a much simpler form than apes.

Apes and monkeys also have various ways of governing themselves. Though, outwardly, this is probably where they start to differ. The governing bodies formed by monkeys are more authoritarian. There are rarely any revolutions that overthrow the established authority. Every monkey knows it's place in the social order. Ape governments also tend to be more authoritarian. However, they also show more "democratic" aspects, in that the "higher-ups" only remain in power as long as the group is happy; or as long as it takes for one individual to rally enough support behind itself and overthrow the leader/s. In Chimpanzees and humans, various individuals will form coalitions in order to gain political power for themselves and/or their friends. Also seen in both species: when a significant enough amount of the population becomes unhappy, they will overthrow the established authority; even violently if necissary.

This is not where the dissimilarites between apes and monkeys stop, however. Monkeys have external tails (See Below). Apes lack this feature, although still have a tailbone which helps for balance. Apes tend to have a larger body and brain size than monkeys do, too. Apes have a mobile, rotary shoulder joint which allows them to brachiate and hang from their arms. Monkeys do not have this ability. Instead they jump or run along the tops of branches or on the ground. Apes also have a wider torso and a shorter, stiffer lumbar region than monkeys do.

Monkey (Macaca mulatta, Rhesus Macaque)

Ape (Symphalangus syndactylus, Siamang)

Holy Bullshit: Christianity and the Bible

2007-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:32

Part I)

Part II)

Part III)

Part IV)