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LABORATORY MANUAL AND WORKBOOK FOR BIOLOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Lab 11: Primate Behavior
ANSWERS TO LAB 11 CONCEPT REVIEW QUESTIONS
would be a study of captive primates.
chimps.
5. C. Solitary describes the social organization of an adult female primate that lives with
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8. A. A wider range of sexual practices is shown by bonobos compared to chimpanzees
10. Threats to wild primate populations today include habitat loss due to deforestation or
GUIDE & ANSWERS TO LAB 11 EXERCISES
Exercise 1: Captive and Field Studies (5 to 10 minutes)
SCENARIO A
Do chimpanzees have the ability to learn and use language? This research project will attempt to
teach chimpanzees how to use sign language. They will be taught a certain number of signs and
then evaluated on their ability to use the signs in innovative combinations and settings.
1. Is this topic best studied in a captive or field study?
2. Why?
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SCENARIO B
Do capuchin monkeys use meat sharing to reinforce social bonds? This research project will
observe how capuchin monkeys distribute meat from hunts. Data will be collected about who
obtains meat, how much they receive, and in what order they receive their shares.
1. Is this topic best studied in a captive or field study?
2. Why?
SCENARIO C
Do bonobos use sexual interactions to avoid or mediate conflict? This research project will
observe bonobo sexual behavior. Particular attention will be paid to situations when sexual
interactions occur around the time of social conflicts. Data will be collected about the type of
sexual act and degree of conflict observed, who is involved, and the length of time elapsed
between the sexual behavior and the conflict.
1. Is this topic best studied in a captive study or field study?
2. Why?
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Exercise 2: Observing Primates (20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on time intervals used)
We suggest specifying a time interval for your students, as well as whether they should do group
or focused observations. This will help keep your students’ work more uniform.
This exercise could be completed during class time as an observation of a small group of human
primates in the surrounding area. If doing this, remember to have the students observe humans
in public places. They should observe behavior similar to what would be seen by any traffic
camera. They should not collect any personal information about the people they observe. Also, if
students use the forms to observe humans, it may help to remind them of how human behavior
meets the categories on the Quantitative Primate Observation Form. For example, when a
mother wipes food off her child’s face, it may be grooming; when a person makes a rude gesture,
it may be a threat display; when a person buys a cookie and splits it with a friend, it may be food
collecting and sharing; when a person uses a computer, it may be tool use; and when a person
tosses his hair and bats his eyelashes, it may be “flirting.”
As an alternative to human observation, the exercise can be assigned as part of a field trip, extra
credit task, or final project where students observe nonhuman primates at a zoo. In this case, it
might be useful for students to copy the forms and observe two different nonhuman primate
species for comparison.
If a high-quality zoo is not available, students could complete the exercise using a “zoo cam.”
Several zoos provide live footage of primates, including the San Diego Zoo
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(http://www.sandiegozoo.org/apecam/) and the National Zoo
(http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/).
[Note: Question 1 in the Critical Thinking section provides students the opportunity to reflect on
their experience of observing primates for this exercise. It might be particularly useful to include
something similar to this if the exercise serves as a field trip or project.]
Exercise 3: Affiliative versus Aggressive Behavior (5 minutes)
For this exercise, you could substitute your own material for the images provided.
Examine the primate behaviors depicted in the photos provided (or in the Lab 11 Exercise Image
Library).
PART A: Image of baboons fighting
1. Do you think this is affiliative behavior or aggressive behavior?
2. Why?
PART B: Image of monkeys grooming
1. Do you think this is affiliative behavior or aggressive behavior?
2. Why?
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PART C: Consider your own experiences with human behavior.
1. How are human affiliative and aggressive behaviors similar to what is seen in
nonhuman primates? Provide specific examples.
Answers may vary, but students should note similarities such as social grooming
2. How are human affiliative and aggressive behaviors different from what is seen in
nonhuman primates? Provide specific examples.
Answers may vary, but students should note differences such as the wider array
Exercise 4: Primate Ecology and Group Size (5 to 10 minutes)
Match each of the mystery primates in the column on the left to the description of its
environment in the column on the right.
A. Tropical Forest (Southeast Asia): “Trees are everywhere in this habitat, but fruit
Exercise 5: Primate Social Organization (5 minutes)
For this exercise, you could substitute your own material for the images provided.
Examine the primate groups depicted in the photos provided (or in the Lab 11 Exercise Image
Library on p. 335).
PART A: Photo of gorillas
1. What type of social group do you think this is?
2. Why?
PART B: Photo of gibbons
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1. What type of social group do you think this is?
2. Why?
Exercise 6: Nonhuman Primate Culture (5 minutes)
Research has found that chimpanzees in one area make spears to help them hunt bush babies
(African lorises). The chimpanzees locate a tree trunk in which the bush babies live. They then
select a tree branch, trim off the leaves and side branches, and trim the end of the branch to form
a sharpened tip. The chimps thrust these branches, like spears, into the tree to try to stab bush
babies (see the lab Image Library for associated images).
1. Is this behavior an example of nonhuman primate culture?
2. Why or why not?
ANSWERS TO LAB 11 CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
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1. Answers will vary, depending on the primate(s) observed, location, etc. Students are to
reflect on their observations in Exercise 2, noting common behaviors (and whether they
are shared with other primates), unusual or surprising sights, how observations in a field
2. A sample completed Primate Behavior Chart showing two affiliative behaviors and two
3. A sample completed Primate Social Organization Chart is provided after this section. For
each of the five types of social organization, students should list the members in each
4. A sample completed Nonhuman Primate Culture Chart is provided after this section.
You could have students use their completed chart to answer follow-up questions about
general trends. For example: Are similar types of tool use seen in multiple types of
primates?
5. Some answers may vary, but students should support their answer with information from
this Lab (11), the ethics information from Lab 1 (if it was covered earlier in the course),
and additional reputable sources.
A. No. Although this “selfie-taking” behavior appears to be very human, the similarity is
B. Students arguing in favor of additional privileges for nonhuman primates should cite
their behavioral similarity to humans (and perhaps their intelligence, awareness of
C. Students arguing in favor of the monkeys holding copyright should support their
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monkeys actually pressed the shutter button on the camera. Students arguing against
the monkeys holding copyright should support their answer by highlighting the
D. This is a brief explanation of the relevant legal battles: Shortly after Slater licensed
the images to news outlets, Wikimedia Commons posted the images online. They
argued that the photos could not be copyrighted because they were taken by monkeys
who, as nonhuman animals, cannot hold copyright under the law. Therefore, the
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6. Answers will vary depending on the primate conservation article. Students should include
the name of the primate, why it needs conservation (negative impacts faced), and how the
primate is being conserved to protect it from further population decline. In general,
PRIMATE BEHAVIOR CHART
Example
Primate(s)
Affiliative Behavior 1
Grooming
Play (especially with juveniles)
All primates
Affiliative Behavior 2
Vocalizations
Most primates
Aggressive Behavior 1
Teeth flashing
Vocalizations and loud displays
Most primates
Aggressive Behavior 2
especially chimps
and baboons
PRIMATE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION CHART
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Description
Primate(s)
Solitary
Females (with offspring) in separate
territories. Male territory overlaps.
Orangutans,
lemurs, lorises
NONHUMAN PRIMATE CULTURE CHART
Primate(s)
Most apes and
capuchins
Chimps and
capuchins
Monogamy
One male, one female, and offspring
marmosets
Polygyny
geladas, colobus
monkeys
macaques