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Tyler Gach
Study Guide 2-1 – Kottak, Chapters 7
Chapter 7: Primates
1. Recall the scope and subject matter of primatology and its specific relationship to the
discipline of anthropology.
The scope and subject matter of primatology
This is purely the study of primates and is a specialized discipline in the department of
anthropology owing to the powerful influence of selective pressures that operate over deep time
over our human lineage. However, it may also diverge into other forms of primates other than
recent humans or the Homo sapiens. The study of the discipline entails the study of both living
and extinct primates within their natural habitats as well as in laboratories by way of
understanding field studies and other experiments to understand any pertinent aspects and issues
of their evolution and behavior. Again, primatology forms part of human biology because, in the
course of their work anthropologists encounter a diverse field some related to nonhuman
primates such as monkeys, lemurs and apes. as a result, primatology helps them to learn about
their behavior and evolution thus enabling them to place human evolution in context as well as to
categories their conservation efforts
The relationship between the discipline of primatology and anthropology
Primatology forms a critical part of anthropology by forming the foundation for their study of
primates as the non-human ancestors. In addition, it helps anthropologists to better understand
both the course of human evolution as well as the similarities between this course and other
