A Primate's Memoir, By Robert Sapolsky

2504 Words11 Pages
In Between Baboons and Humans Robert Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons, demonstrated that, despite baboons being non-human primates, baboons share some similarities with humans. These troops participate in social behaviors that seem to mimic the social relationships shared between humans. Sapolsky noted the roles in the troop he surveyed and gave each of the baboon names; therefore, the names will be used in order to make imagery of the social hierarchy in the baboon troop he studied. Their social hierarchy is decided by factors such as age, appearance, inheritance, personality, and sex—a similar concept that humans have lived by for thousands of years among many different cultures. These factors also affect rank in their hierarchy; however, these ranks can change, especially among prospect male baboons. This is not so different from humans; particularly in Africa, where young men have a chance to reach a higher rank in their own social hierarchy by displaying tactical dominance, such as the…show more content…
Laurence presented himself to people using dominant gestures, along with his intimidating appearance (Sapolsky, 2002:121). He was a large man that was used to solitude among animals; therefore, it’s probable that he picked up a couple of behaviors that he observed from these animals. When he became frustrated at others, namely human males, his tendency was to push his chin out in a dominant manner (Sapolsky, 2002:121). This gesture was successful against Sapolsky, so it took a couple of years for them to become close friends (Sapolsky, 2002:121). Alpha male baboons also have their own dominant displays that they use to keep troublesome males away from their path. These can include baring their large canines through yawns or in a deliberate manner, chasing males away, and other
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    2038 Words  | 9 Pages

    A Primate’s Memoir A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons “A Primate’s Memoir” written by Robert M. Sapolsky, embodies his twenty-one year journey following a troop of Baboons in Kenya, Africa. Throughout his journey, he collected a tremendous amount of data and first-hand experiences. The information and experiences gained from the journey supported the author’s research in Baboons and how stress influences their daily lives. Although it seems that twenty-one years is a long

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