Evolutionary scientists know that the line that divides humans from other animals has grown increasingly blurry, yet many other fields, especially in the social sciences, have not really absorbed this knowledge. At the same time, the knowledge that all humans are genetically and cognitively modern has left the apes as our only true "savages." Thus if we want to learn about human nature and how we came to be as we are, we must look to the apes. In this sweeping, fresh, controversial book, primatologist Craig Stanford does just that, giving us fascinating insights--and debunks many myths--about infanticide, mating practices, and the origins of human cognition.
Dr. Craig Stanford is a well-known authority on the behavior of primates and other animals, and on the biological and cultural roots of human behavior. He is Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at USC and Director of the USC Jane Goodall Research Center. Stanford has conducted field research on primates (especially our close relatives the chimpanzee and mountain gorilla) and other animals for 20 years in Africa and Asia. He is best known for his research on chimpanzee hunting and meat-eating, done in collaboration with his mentor Jane Goodall, and for his work on the ecological relationship between chimpanzee and gorillas in forests where the two apes occur together. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards for both his research and writing, and is a frequent guest on radio and tv.
Stanford is the author of more than 120 scholarly and popular articles on animal behavior and human nature topics. In addition to his primate and human origins works, Stanford has recently published The Last Tortoise (Harvard University Press, 2010) about the race against extinction for many of the world's endangered tortoises. He is currently working on a book about the conservation issues facing the great apes.
