Question of Animal Culture Hardcover by Kevin N. Laland

Product Details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press (2009-02-17)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 360 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780674031265
• Item Weight: 567.0 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

Fifty years ago, a troop of Japanese macaques was observed washing sandy sweet potatoes in a stream, sending ripples through the fields of ethology, comparative psychology, and cultural anthropology. The issue of animal culture has been hotly debated ever since. Now Kevin Laland and Bennett Galef have gathered key voices in the often rancorous debate to summarize the views along the continuum from “Culture? Of course!” to “Culture? Of course not!” The result is essential reading for anyone interested in the validity of animal culture, and what it might say about our own.

About the Author

Kevin N. Laland is a Professor in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews.

Bennett G. Galef is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, McMaster University, and past editor of Animal Behaviour.

William C. McGrew is Professor of Anthropology and Zoology at Miami University, Ohio.

Susan Perry is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Carel van Schaik is Professor and Director of the Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich.

Michael Tomasello is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. From 1998 to 2018 he was Co-Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and in 2017 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His scientific work has been recognized by institutions around the world, including the Guggenheim Foundation, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Netherlands, and the German National Academy of Sciences.