Overview
This chapter shows that behavioral traits are as much a product of evolutionary processes as are physical features and that they, too, can be used in comparative studies to gain insight into the origin, evolution, and relationships of the human species. The important distinction between homologous and analogous traits is introduced with examples. Sociobiology, now far less controversial than before, is noted as the source of two relevant behavioral concepts—inclusive fitness and reproductive strategies—that are particularly important in the study of primate behavior.Three primates are then discussed. Baboons are interesting because they, like our early ancestors, are savanna primates, and because of the fairly radical change in our viewpoint about their behavior. Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest relatives and thus their behaviors are probably homologues to at least some of our own behavior patterns. These species are discussed at some length, setting the stage for the coverage of our early evolution in chapters to come. I caution that the conclusion we can reach is not that humans have exactly the same genes for specific behaviors as do the chimps and bonobos, but that the focus of early hominid adaptation may, like those nonhominid species, have been on a certain type of social organization.