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Primatology

12/27/2015

In a previous blog (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-physical-anthropology) I briefly mentioned primatology. But what exactly is primatology and what does a primatologist do? Furthermore, why are we spending so much time studying primates and why are physical anthropologists so interested in non-human primates? In the following blog I would like to discuss the matters these questions bring up.
     Primatology is the study of primates, from what they eat, mating patterns, and so on. The most famous primatologist, Jane Goodall, has opened so many new doors for this field. With the time she has spent with chimpanzees since the 1960's has not only contributed to primatology, but also has showed that chimpanzees and humans are not all that different. I have mentioned in an earlier blog (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-diet-and-teeth) that chimpanzees are omnivoures, and that they hunt, but Goodall has studied and witnessed far more human traits in chimpanzees. Many think that humans are the only species that can show compassion, and for those who also show compassion have been taught by humans, but this is not the case for chimpanzees. In her time with the chimpanzees Goodall saw so many moments of compassion. For example, in 1987 she was witness to a female chimpanzee, Spindle, adopting an orphaned chimpanzee, Mel. Even thought Mel was not a close relative, Spindle took her under her wing when Mel's mother died of pneumonia. What is more, she has “witnessed chimps performing a spontaneous dance-like display by waterfalls. Jane believes that this parallels expressions of awe that led early humans to religion.” There is also evidence with them eating medicinal plants when they have stomach aches or to “reduce internal parasites.”
     Now primatology is not limited to the study of chimpanzees. All of the research primatologists have conducted have deepened our understanding of our own roots. That is the reason physical anthropologists are so interested in non-human primates. In some of the studies primatologists conduct they compare how alike modern humans and modern non-human primates are. “For example, the way in which the brains of rhesus monkeys and humans are organized is similar.” The more we study these cousins of ours, the more we understand what makes us human.
     We may all be humans, but human, chimpanzee, gorilla, squirrel money, we are all primates. This is what makes physical anthropology such an exciting field. Anthropology is the study of humans, but to figure out what makes us human and how we got to being human requires extensive research about the past, but also the present. The Earth is pretty much already a planet of the apes. All different species, albeit all still very alike (humans and chimpanzees share 96 percent of their DNA).
     Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.

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The Old Man of La Chapelle

12/20/2015

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In 1908 the skeleton of a Neanderthal was found in a small cave in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. Even though I said “skeleton” it was not a complete one. The bones that were found were the skull, the mandible, most of his vertebrae, a number of ribs, most of the long bones of the arms and legs (long bones include humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula), along with several of the smaller bones of his hands and feet (carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges). With that said, what is the reason for the the name “The Old Man?” In the following blog I will discuss the state of his skull and how the finding of him changed the way we see Neanderthals.
Nowadays when you hear the term “old man,” what is the age you associate with it? A male around 70 and above is now what we would call an old man. This skeleton, was nowhere near the age we now see fit to be labled old man. The time of death for the Neanderthal male that was found is estimated to be between 25 – 40 years of age. The reason for naming this skeleton “The Old Man of La Chapelle” was because of the state of his skull and of his spine/bones.
This discovery was one of the reasons we at first saw Neanderthals as brutes because of his stance when standing. In 1913, the physcial anthropologist, Pierre Marcellin Boule, examined and restored the bones he was given. When he was done he could confidently deduce that the because of the iregularities of the spine that when the Old Man stood, he would be hunched-over. It was not til many years later that we can agree that his stance was most likely due to osteoarthritis, and the hunched-over stance was an isolated observation. But before they took a careful look at his vertebrae and stance, the thing that jumped out to make this Neanderthal an old man was when looking at the skull (image below, next to the skull is an interpretation of how he looked). Your immediate conclusion is “this belonged to an old man.” And just like with the spine, which we first came to an incorrect conclusion, with the skull, it presents an intimate look back to how the Neanderthals lived.

Since he had no teeth, eating would be an uncomfortable, and possibly painful task. He did not die shortly after either, by evidence of bone growing over the empty sockets; he most likely lived 10 or so years after losing them. It was thought that someone in his tribe would have to process food for him. Some argue that he still had a few incisors, canines, and premolars, so he could effectively chew his own food. Given that is true, with his osteoarthritis, he had no way of getting around. “Scholars Dawson and Trinkaus (1995, 1997) argued that the osteoarthritis was evidence of trauma resulting from some heavy physical activity that occurred during his lifetime, incapacitating him.” I believe that the younger of his tribe would care for him, similar to the way we care for our elderly.
I find it so interesting how the way we age has changed throughout the ages, or perhaps, this was the regular aging cycle for Neanderthals. Even so, the aging of our evolutionary ancestors, even those in the early 1800s, are now completely different when compared to our aging cycle. But, as I said in an earlier blog (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-getting-older) we all have to accept getting older as part of our life cycle. Here is a link in which you can look at the skull of the Old Man from different angles: http://efossils.org/page/boneviewer/Homo%20neanderthalensis/La%20Chapelle-aux-Saints.
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.

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The Stone Age

12/6/2015

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The new section concerning the human skeleton is now up and I know I said last week there will be no new blog, but I just learned exciting news; the news that chimpanzee have entered their own Stone Age. This is not only exciting news, but huge news! Years ago, “it wasn’t believed that even primates or apes had the capacity for stone tool usage” only humans. With this new information coming out, it so happens that a variety of primates, chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques, have been not only using stone tools but fashioning them to suit their needs. Some have been dated back to about the time when the pyramids were being built.
     But how can we be certain they were used by primates and not by humans; we look at the evidence. When we were using stone hammers they did not exceed the weight of 1 kg, or 2 lb. The stone hammers that were found weighed between 1 kg and 9 kg or 19 lb. What is more, some of the hammers were “coated with the starchy reside of nuts that are eaten by chimps, but not humans. These findings suggest that for the last 4,300 years, chimpanzees have been making use of stone tools in the region.”
     Now, just because we are now realizing this, does not mean that the way chimpanzee's use stones is a relatively new method. A few scientists see this using stone tools as a tradition. Reason being is only a few small communities in West Africa use them. Because of this discovery there is now a new branch of science: primate archaeology, So it may be another million years or so til they create advanced stone tools. For us humans, the stone tool was the first, followed by fire, in many achievements. And we have experimented to see how chimpanzee's deal with new technology, we know they have the capacity and the means to create advanced stone tools.
     Main reason lies in their brain. As I stated before, for us humans the stone tools was the start of many achievements, which required our brains to expland. The brain pathways that allowed us to do that exists in chimpanzee's as well. But, sadly, because of the fact that we are human and are not only hunting chimpanzee's but also destroying their habitat, they may never reach the height of their potential.
  Once again, the new section with the labeled human skeleton is up. Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.

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Primatology

The Old Man of La Chapelle

The Stone Age

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