Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Av., 32a, Moscow, 119334, Russia [marina.butovskaya@gmail.com]

Abstract. Recent decades have been marked by intensive studies of nonhuman primates social behavior, particularly in wild settings, and the accumulation of these data enable some new light to be shed on the evolution of early stages of human social evolution, as well as on the role of cognitive abilities in this process. Practically all multimale/multi-female non-human primate societies are organized on the bases of social dominance hierarchies with different degrees of steepness. The latter are largely depended on the strength of contest competition for various resources. It is currently demonstrated that dominance patterns in bonobo, with some minor variations are similar to those of chimpanzees. Initial beliefs about peaceful and egalitarian pigmy chimpanzees appear incorrect. The field data on woolly monkeys (Lagothrix) revealed that they are highly promiscuous and males are hardly even trying to compete for mating. In this case social relations, close to egalitarian, are the result of a scramble-like competition. The exceptions are Callitrichids, but in this case the social structure is more simple and not represented by multi-male/multi-female units. To conclude, no multi-male/multi-female egalitarian primate societies exist, except for our own species. Egalitarianism in humans has been inextricably linked with moral attitudes encouraging sharing, cooperation, and equality, and discouraging status seeking, conflict, and authoritarianism.

Keywords: egalitarianism, social dominance hierarchies, contest and scramble competition, non-human primates, hunters-gatherers.

Received 02.01.2020, accepted 11.02.2020.

DOI: 10.31600/2658-3925-2020-1-13-26

For citation: Butovskaya M. L. Primates as living links to our past: variations in hierarchy steepness but not real egalitarianism. Prehistoric Archaeology. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. 2020 (1), 13-26 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.31600/2658-3925-2020-1-13-26

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