Human Evolution and Male Aggression: Debunking the Myth of Man a ...

Section I

Primate Biology and Behavior

This section introduces or reviews some matters of basic biology and behavior that are needed to understand the scope and dimensions of aggression in primates. Chapter 1 introduces our subject matter and how we plan to address its challenges. Chapter 2 provides an update on recent advances in archaeology (the study of old bones and artifacts), hormones, genes, and brain evolution that seem to us to require a revision of the thinking about the evolution of human behavior. Chapter 3 discusses biases in the story of human evolution. Chapter 4 dispels antiquated, but still commonly held, notions about humans’ closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. In chapter 5, we review research on behaviors that forestall aggression, which are too often overlooked in discussions of how humans got to be what they are today.