Re: Bipedalism and theorizing... was Re: Morgan and creationists

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Paul@crowleyp.demon.co.uk (Paul Crowley) wrote:

>Gerrit and I had a long exchange on this here about three months
>ago. Chimps carry infants in the ventral position until they are
>about 4 years old - especially on long journeys when the infant
>gets tired.

To settle another (old) matter,

Paul Crowley wrote (on 24-7-96):
>Chimp, gorilla, orang and gibbon infants do *not* hold onto hair.
>It would not be strong or plentiful enough and they're much to heavy.
>They hold onto their mothers' *bodies* using their long arms and legs.
>You can see this in any zoo.

Jane Goodall about chimpanzees:"For the first 6 to 9 months the infant
is normally transported from place to place in ventro-ventral
position,gripping the mother's hair between flexed fingers and toes."
"From about 5 to 7 months of age the infant usually begins to ride on
its mother's back.At first it lies with its head in the region of the
neck or shoulders and grips on to hair with its hands and feet
wherever it can.Later it sits up in the 'jockey' position,either with
its legs gripping the mother's sides or with its knees drawn up and
feet resting on her back.In either case hair is normally grasped with
the hands only."
(Goodall,J.(1968) Behaviour of free-living chimpanzees of the Gombe
Stream area. Animal Behaviour Monographs 1:p.225)

And George Schaller about gorillas:
"During the first month of life,infants were so rarely without support
that I found it difficult to determine at what age they were first
able to cling to their mothers without assistance.At the age of one
month they were able to do so long enough to permit the females to
climb into trees ,using both hands to grasp branches.At such times the
infants lay sprawled parallel to long axis of the female's
body,grasping the hairs at her side,usually in the vicinity of the
armpits,and similarly clasping the hairs with the feet on each side of
her abdomen."
(Schaller,G.B.(1963) The Mountain Gorilla:ecology and behavior.
University of Chicago Press,p.263)

Gerrit.

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