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Full-Text Articles in Biological and Physical Anthropology

The Ontogeny Of Complex Tool Use Among Chimpanzees Of The Goualougo Triangle, Republic Of Congo, Stephanie L. Musgrave May 2019

The Ontogeny Of Complex Tool Use Among Chimpanzees Of The Goualougo Triangle, Republic Of Congo, Stephanie L. Musgrave

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various factors are hypothesized to have contributed to the flourishing of technology during human evolution, including high-fidelity social learning, a propensity for prosocial helping, and sex differences in foraging tool use. In this research, we examined the role of these factors on the development of complex tool-using skills among wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. These apes exhibit among the most complex tool behaviors of any nonhuman animal, including the flexible use of multiple tool types and the manufacture of tools from specific raw materials, according to a particular design. Specifically, we drew upon …


Kinship And Religious Identities In Medieval Central Asia (8th-13th C. Ce): Tracing Communities Of Mortuary Practice And Biological Affinity, Elissa Anne Bullion May 2018

Kinship And Religious Identities In Medieval Central Asia (8th-13th C. Ce): Tracing Communities Of Mortuary Practice And Biological Affinity, Elissa Anne Bullion

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ethnic, political, and religious upheaval has cascading impacts on social identity. Kinship and religious ritual are two sources of social identity that are particularly salient in periods of change. Their practice provides access to and protection of important social, economic, and ideological resources that help groups negotiate times of uncertainty. During the medieval period (8th-13th c. CE), Central Asia saw the invasion of Arab armies, the rise of Turkic political dynasties, and the spread of Islam. This period yielded a Turko-Islamic culture that pervades modern dialogues on Central Asian history and culture. The local and regional social systems that sustained …


Wild Primates In Documentary Films: Biodiversity, Behavior, And Pedagogical Applications, Crystal Marie Riley Koenig May 2018

Wild Primates In Documentary Films: Biodiversity, Behavior, And Pedagogical Applications, Crystal Marie Riley Koenig

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The representation of wild primates in the nature documentary genre could have important implications for conservation and education. However, no prior research has looked at the content of this genre or its use in education. To fill this gap, the current research included a content analysis of all available documentaries focused on wild primates (n = 210) and a survey of 219 college-level anthropology instructors, with an emphasis on determining how primate biodiversity was portrayed, whether primate behavior was realistically depicted in documentaries, whether mistakes and inaccuracies were common, and how college instructors use primate documentaries as resources in their …


Coexistence Of Confamilial, Folivorous Indriids, Propithecus Diadema And Indri Indri, At Betampona Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar, Lana Kerker Oliver May 2017

Coexistence Of Confamilial, Folivorous Indriids, Propithecus Diadema And Indri Indri, At Betampona Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar, Lana Kerker Oliver

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine how two confamilial and ecologically similar indriids, indri (Indri indri), and diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) maintain coexistence in Betampona Nature Reserve (BNR), an eastern lowland rainforest in Madagascar. These two species occur sympatrically throughout much of their species ranges and are similarly-sized folivorous primates. As anatomic folivores, they present an opportunity to investigate how niche differentiation and resource partitioning allow two sympatric primate species with similar feeding patterns to coexist. I examined coexistence strategies and the general behavioral ecology of each species by examining their activity patterns, dietary profiles, home range use, and daily path …


Population Genomics Of A Baboon Hybrid Zone In Zambia, Kenneth Lyu Chiou May 2017

Population Genomics Of A Baboon Hybrid Zone In Zambia, Kenneth Lyu Chiou

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hybridization is increasingly recognized as a common, important process shaping the evolution of organisms including humans. Across hybrid zones, the genomes of incipient species are mixed and recombined through hybridization and backcrossing, creating conditions ideal for evaluating the actions of natural selection on gene variants in novel genomic contexts. This dissertation aims to increase our understanding of hybridization using a Zambian baboon study system in which two species, Kinda baboons (Papio kindae) and grayfoot baboons (Papio griseipes), hybridize despite exhibiting pronounced differences in body size and behavior. Using genome-wide genotypic data prepared using double-digest RADseq, I scan for genomic regions …


A Quantitative Genetic Analysis Of Craniofacial Variation In Baboons, Jessica Lynn Joganic May 2016

A Quantitative Genetic Analysis Of Craniofacial Variation In Baboons, Jessica Lynn Joganic

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an explication of baboon craniofacial variation and its genetic basis. Intraspecific variation is the result of input from and complex interactions among genetic information, functional demands, and developmental processes. The relative effect of each of these on craniofacial variation, as well as the degree of inter-trait covariance, determines whether traits can respond to selection and what that response might look like. Using a sample of pedigreed baboons, I quantify craniofacial variation to address specific questions regarding the distribution and magnitude of phenotypic, genetic, and environmental variation patterns. In addition, I identify regions of the genome containing genetic …