Hominid culture in primate perspective

the long version

Human culture and animal behavior are commonly differentiated through perceived contrasts in the ability to use tools, to invent symbols, to form words, and so on. In Hominid Culture in Primate Perspective, primatologists discuss how human thought, language, and culture are actually rooted in the evolution of primate cognition, communication, and "precultural" behavior. Their research indicates that the perceived differences between human culture and primate behavior are increasingly difficult to identify. Exploring the questions surrounding the origin and evolution of human culture using nonhuman primate data, the contributors examine posture, gesture, and locomotion; object manipulation and tool use; social cognition and kinship; simulation, deception, and play; cultural diversity in the behavior of non-human primates; and the late origins of vocal language in human evolution. Hominid Culture in Primate Perspective is a valuable collection of current and thoughtful ideas that will be of particular interest to anthropologists, primatologists, and students of culture and complex behavior in evolution.