From Primitives to Primates A History of Ethnographic and Primatological Analogies in the Study of Prehistory

Free Download David Van Reybrouck, "From Primitives to Primates: A History of Ethnographic and Primatological Analogies in the Study of Prehistory"
English | 2017 | pages: 387 | ISBN: 9088904758, 9088900957 | PDF | 7,8 mb
Where do our images about early hominids come from? In this fascinating in-depth study, David Van Reybrouck demonstrates how input from ethnography and primatology has deeply influenced our visions about the past from the 19th century to this day - often far beyond the available evidence. Victorian scholars were keen to look at contemporary Australian and Tasmanian aboriginals to understand the enigmatic Neanderthal fossils. Likewise, today's primatologists debate to what extent bonobos, baboons or chimps may be regarded as stand-ins for early human ancestors. The belief that the contemporary world provides 'living links' still goes strong. Such primate models, Van Reybrouck argues, continue the highly problematic 'comparative method' of the Victorian times. He goes on to show how the field of ethnoarchaeology has succeeded in circumventing the major pitfalls of such analogical reasoning.