Humans and the apes are all members of the group of primates called the Hominoidea. Evolutionarily we are a tight-knit group sharing much in common. This is not surprising, as much of evolution is about the continuities between closely related lines. However, evolution is also about discontinuities and it is these that make lineages distinctive. Humans are very distinctive. How our distinctions play out means a lot for us and for the other species around us. This lecture outlines the deep similarities, as well as the critical differences, between humans and other primates and offers a thoroughly anthropological and evolutionary explanation for why we should care.
Professor Fuentes (B.A., M.A., Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 1989,91,94) is a specialist in the study of macaques (from Indonesia to Gibraltar). He is the author of four books (most recently Race, Monogamy & Other Lies They Have Told You—W. W. Howells Award for 2015), editor/co-editor of 16 collective volumes and special journal issues (including “Re-integrating Anthropology”, Current Anthropology 57, with Polly Wiessner), editor of Wiley’s International Encyclopedia of Primatology, author/co-author of 84 peer-reviewed journal articles and 54 book chapters, plus many other articles, reviews, blogs, etc. He has been the recipient of 35 grants, including a recent John Templeton Foundation grant for nearly $2 million. He has organized numerous meeting sessions & symposia, including a 2014 Wenner-Gren Conference in Sintra, Portugal. He is a frequent keynote & public speaker on apes, race, and human nature.
Both events are free, open to the public & accessible. Park legally to avoid a fine.
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