Socioecology and Psychology of Primates (World Anthropology Ser)

This book focuses on a particular type of formulaic expressions called Situation-Bound Utterances (SBUs). Since the meaning of these pragmatic units is shaped by the interplay of linguistic and extralinguistic factors they can be best accounted for in a theoretical framework which represents a knowledge-for-use conception. A unique feature of the book is that it examines the development and use of a particular type of formulae from new perspectives. The comparison of a monolingual and multilingual approach, and the application of the graded salience hypothesis to SBUs within a cognitive-pragmatic theoretical framework reveal that issues such as the role of context in shaping situational meaning, and the existence of common or similar cognitive mechanisms and knowledge structures responsible for cognitive functions and speech behavior in different languages need revision. As a consequence, the book seeks answer to two main questions: 1) origin and extent of context-sensitiveness, and 2) the development of the particular situational functions of SBUs. On the basis of recent research it is argued that context affects comprehension only after highly salient information has been accessed. Search for the appropriate meaning stops if the information accessed initially is compatible with the context, and it continues, if it is not. This approach puts the issue of context-sensitiveness of SBUs into an entirely different perspective. It is also discussed that why exactly these utterances started to be used to express those pragmatic functions and not others. SBUs demonstrate better than any other linguistic unit that there is a strong cognitive-linguistic interdependency. The development of certain SBUs can be accounted for through cognitive mechanisms, and vice versa: learning an SBU for a culturally important category can linguistically reinforce the learning of the category itself. The book uses a cross-linguistic perspective and illustrative examples from several languages which makes its arguments and claims convincing. SECTION ONE: Ecology, Diet, and Social Patterning in Monkeys and Apes Ecology, Diet, and Social Patterning in Old and New World Primates Habitat Description and Resource Utilization: A Preliminary Report on Mantled Howling Monkey Ecology Social and Ecological Contrasts Between Four Taxa of Neotropical Primates Some Ecological, Distributional, and Group Behavioral Features of Atelinae in Southern Peru: With Comments on Interspecific Relations Comparison of the Behavior and Ecology of Red Colobus and Black-and-white Colobus Monkeys in Uganda: A Summary Population Dynamics of the Toque Monkey, Macaca sinica The Descent of Dominance in Macaca: Insights into the Structure of Human Societies The Influence of Hormonal and Ecological Factors upon Sexual Behavior and Social Organization in Old World Primates Social Behavior and Ecological Considerations of West African Baboons (Papio papio) Discussion SECTION TWO: Meat-Eating and Behavioral Adaptations to Hunting Meat-Eating and Hunting in Baboons The Origin of Hominid Hunting: A Primatological Perspective Behavioral and Intellectual Adaptations of Selected Mammalian Predators to the Problem of Hunting Large Animals Discussion SECTION THREE: Self-Awareness and Capacities for Perceptual Integration Across Sensory Modalities, Learning, Symbolizing, and Intelligence Towards an Operational Definition of Self-Awareness The Learning and Symbolizing Capacities of Apes and Monkeys Discussion Plates SECTION FOUR: Language Skills of Apes and the Evolution of Human Language Capacities for Language in Great Apes The Language Skills of a Young Chimpanzee in a Computer-Controlled Training Situation Discussion SECTION FIVE: Capacities for Tool Behavior and Hominid Evolution Primate Tool Behavior Discussion Biographical Notes Index of Names Index of Subjects Pp. xv, 474; 7 black-and-white photo-plates, some line-drawings and graphs. Publisher's original black cloth lettered in white on the spine, color pictorial dust jacket, lg 8vo. This volume provides a wealth of new information about the ways in which natural habitats and social contexts may influence behavior. Topics covered are meat-eating and hunting in baboons, chimpanzees and large carnivores, psychological capacities and tool behavior in primates, and the language skills of chimpanzees (from the jacket flap). These papers were presented in Session 411 at the IXth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences held on September 4 in Chicago, Illinois. This is part of the World Anthropology series edited by Sol Tax. No ownership marks and no signs of use. Editor, Russell H. Tuttle. This Volume Contains Papers That Were Prepared For Discussion In Session 411 At The Ixth International Congress Of Anthropological And Ethnological Sciences. Includes Bibliographies And Indexes.