On 6/16/2010 5:24 AM, Bob W wrote:
Don't see where political correctness came into this equation...
Nobody knows if humans were more or less nasty than neanderthals.
What we know is that modern humans go homicidal over mere tribal
differences, have an excellent record of eliminating competitors on
their level in the food chain, and possible predators as well. To
assume that they somehow did away with the neanderthals in a...
hmmm... less than including way... is just a pragmatic approach. If
that's politics for you, well then it must be the oldest political
direction in human history... :-)
I think you just described the Great Apes in general.
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eubDSQrFako>
Actually, responding to my own post, it's not just bonobos that are the
exception among the great apes. Violence as a whole is the exception among
great apes. Gorillas, bonobos, orang utans are not violent and they do not
go around eliminating competitors. Among common chimpanzees there have been
'wars' between groups, but even these appear to be the exception.
I don't think there is much evidence to support the idea that modern humans
are genetically determined to be homicidal maniacs eliminating all
competition - I think that the type of violence described above is a result
of cultural factors arising from the adoption of agriculture as our
principle way of making a living.
Bob
A bit of an oversimplification. The Gorilla equivalent to a war between
Chimp troops, since the primary grouping is a Silverback (male) and a
group of females, is a "duel", which can be to the death.
The Bonobo seems to be exclusively a herbivore, which might have
something to do with it's non aggressive behavior, or might not I
couldn't say. The division between Common Chimp and Bonobo, puts me in
mind of another similar division, in fiction, from H. G. Well, "The Time
Machine". (Yes I know another simplification). The difference being
that neither Chimps nor Bonobos can swim so never the twain shall meet.
Orangutans are solitary creatures, it's hard to have a war when you
don't organize into groups.
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