Re: Dissecting the Aquatic Ape: Bipedalism
HARRY R. ERWIN (herwin@mason2.gmu.edu)
2 Aug 1996 13:11:55 GMT
Leonard Timmons (ltimmons@acsatlanta.com) wrote:
: Richard Foy wrote:
: >
: > In article <4to2ss$kj9@portal.gmu.edu>,
: > HARRY R. ERWIN <herwin@mason2.gmu.edu> wrote:<cut>
: > >Yes, but fitness is relative, and if there are other groups in the area
: > >that don't lose as many prime males, you're history.<cut>
: > If the loss of prime violent males results in control of more
: > territory they it could be genetically beneficial.
: I did not make clear that in my statement above, that this
: strangulation technique would most often be used against menbers
: of other groups. From what I know of chimp behavior, one group
: usually destroys another by finding individual members who
: happen to be alone and at some distance from help. Those individuals
: are then attacked by a group and gravely injured or killed.
: This process continues until the second group no longer exists.
: Once strangulation is learned by one group, a single individual
: can use strangulation and the normal technique of waiting to
: find a hapless individual from the other group to decimate the
: entire group.
: New groups would then be created when the original group splits
: and this process would continue. I believe that Ms. Goodall
: describes this process for chimpanzees.
Most interpersonal violence in mammals is within-group. Inter-group
violence is rare, probably because it is significantly more dangerous to
take someone on in their own territory. The theory is consistent with
observation.
--
Harry Erwin, Internet: herwin@gmu.edu, Web Page: http://osf1.gmu.edu/~herwin
49 year old PhD student in computational neuroscience ("how bats do it" 8)
and lecturer for CS 211 (data structures and advanced C++)
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