The New Chimpanzee : A Twenty-First-Century Portrait of Our Closest Kin

"Recent discoveries about wild chimpanzees have dramatically reshaped our understanding of these great apes and their kinship with humans. We now know that chimpanzees not only have genomes similar to our own but also plot political coups, wage wars over territory, pass on cultural traditions to younger generations, and ruthlessly strategize for resources, including sexual partners. In The New Chimpanzee, Craig Stanford challenges us to let apes guide our inquiry into what it means to be human. With wit and lucidity, Stanford explains what the past two decades of chimpanzee field research has taught us about the origins of human social behavior, the nature of aggression and communication, and the divergence of humans and apes from a common ancestor. Drawing on his extensive observations of chimpanzee behavior and social dynamics, Stanford adds to our knowledge of chimpanzees' political intelligence, sexual power plays, violent ambition, cultural diversity, and adaptability. The New Chimpanzee portrays a complex and even more humanlike ape than the one Jane Goodall popularized more than a half century ago. It also sounds an urgent call for the protection of our nearest relatives at a moment when their survival is at risk." -- Publisher's description Le site de l'éditeur indique : "Recent discoveries about wild chimpanzees have dramatically reshaped our understanding of these great apes and their kinship with humans. We now know that chimpanzees not only have genomes similar to our own but also plot political coups, wage wars over territory, pass on cultural traditions to younger generations, and ruthlessly strategize for resources, including sexual partners. In The New Chimpanzee, Craig Stanford challenges us to let apes guide our inquiry into what it means to be human. With wit and lucidity, Stanford explains what the past two decades of chimpanzee field research has taught us about the origins of human social behavior, the nature of aggression and communication, and the divergence of humans and apes from a common ancestor. Drawing on his extensive observations of chimpanzee behavior and social dynamics, Stanford adds to our knowledge of chimpanzees'political intelligence, sexual power plays, violent ambition, cultural diversity, and adaptability. The New Chimpanzee portrays a complex and even more humanlike ape than the one Jane Goodall popularized more than a half century ago. It also sounds an urgent call for the protection of our nearest relatives at a moment when their survival is at risk." The History Of Research Into The Lives Of Wild Chimpanzees Now Spans More Than A Half-century Since Jane Goodall Began It All. The Past 20 Years Have Seen Tremendous Advances In Our Understanding Of Our Closest Kin. These Include Revelations About Our Very Similar Genomes, But Also Many New Discoveries About Social Behavior And Ecology. New Cultural Traditions And Forms Of Tool Use, New Evidence For The Causes Of Violence, New Evidence Of Patterns Of Hunting And Meat-eating, And Much More. Chimpanzees Are New And Different Apes Than They Were At The Close Of The Last Century. The New Chimpanzee Synthesizes The Findings Of The Past 20 Years And Offers New Insights And Interpretations Of What Researchers Have Learned. The New Chimpanzee Draws From Results Of The 7 Longest Term (25-55 Years) Research Projects From Which We've Learned The Most About The Species, Augmented By Other Shorter Field Projects Conducted In Recent Years, Including My Own.-- Watching Chimpanzees -- Fission, Fusion, And Food -- Politics Is War Without Bloodshed -- War For Peace -- Sex And Reproduction -- Growing Up Chimpanzee -- Why Chimpanzees Hunt -- Got Culture? -- Blood Is Thicker -- Ape Into Human. Craig Stanford. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 209-257) And Index. The history of research into the lives of wild chimpanzees now spans more than a half-century since Jane Goodall began it all. The past 20 years have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of our closest kin. These include revelations about our very similar genomes, but also many new discoveries about social behavior and ecology. New cultural traditions and forms of tool use, new evidence for the causes of violence, new evidence of patterns of hunting and meat-eating, and much more. Chimpanzees are new and different apes than they were at the close of the last century. The New Chimpanzee synthesizes the findings of the past 20 years and offers new insights and interpretations of what researchers have learned. The New Chimpanzee draws from results of the 7 longest term (25-55 years) research projects from which we've learned the most about the species, augmented by other shorter field projects conducted in recent years, including my own.-- Provided by publisher Drawing on extensive observations of wild chimpanzees’ behavior and social dynamics, Craig Stanford portrays a complex and more humanlike ape than the chimps Jane Goodall popularized more than a half century ago—one that plots political coups, strategizes for resources, and passes on cultural traditions to younger generations. Preface 1. Watching Chimpanzees 2. Fission, Fusion, and Food 3. Politics Is War without Bloodshed 4. War for Peace 5. Sex and Reproduction 6. Growing Up Chimpanzee 7. Why Chimpanzees Hunt 8. Got Culture? 9. Blood Is Thicker 10. Ape into Human Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Credits Index