Cognition in Primates

Recommended Prerequisites

Primatology.

Teaching Methods

The course will include lectures, but also dicussion with the students of some topics and research articles. Some classes will also include the watching of scientific documentaries with recent research and inovative methodologies.

Learning Outcomes

Primate Cognition attempts to review scientific knowledge about all nonhuman primate cognition. One of the goals of studying non-human primate cognition is to understand human cognition and place it in and evolutive context. We will consider studies in both the laboratory and in the field, and evaluate opposing views of cognition in light of data and evolutionary theory. By paying attention to forms of natural primate cognition, it is possible to see similarities and differences among different phylogenetic branches of the primate group.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Several topics related with the Knowledge about the Physical World (space and objects, characteristics e categorization, quantities, tool e causality) and the Knowledge about the Social World (interactions, Theory of mind, communication, learning e culture) will be approached. We will introduce the theme Cultural Primatology, relating with learning, and focusing on the debate about culture in non-human primates. In light of evolutionary theory, we will discuss the meaning of culture, how to recognise and to measure culture in nature, and how can we analyse culture comparatively. Is human culture unique? We will discuss if it makes any sense to talk about Primate Archaeology.

Head Lecturer(s)

Paulo Jorge Gama Mota

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Project: 20.0%
Bibliographic Research: 80.0%

Bibliography

Amant RS & Horton TE 2008 Revisiting the definition of animal tool use. Animal Behaviour, 75:1199-1208.

Byrne RW et al 2004. Understanding culture across species. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8:341-346.

Call J 2000. Representing space and objects in monkeys and apes. Cognitive Science, 24:397-422.

Dunbar RI 1998. The Social Brain Hypothesis. Evolutionary Anthropology, 6:178-190.

Haslam M et al 2009. Primate Archaeology. Nature, 460:339-444.

Huffman MA 2001. Self-medicative behaviour in the African great apes: An exploratory perspective into the origins of human traditional medicine. BioScience, 51:65-661.

Matsuzawa T(ed) 2001. Primate origins of human cognition and behaviour. Tokyo, Springer-Verlag.

McGrew WC 1992. Chimpanzee Material Culture. Implications for Human Evolution. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Paar LA & de Waal FB 1999. Visual kin recognition in chimpanzees. Nature, 399: 647.

Premack D 2007. Human and animal cognition: Continuity and discontinuity. PNAS USA, 104:13861-13867.

Tomasello M & Call J 1997. Primate Cognition, Oxford Univ. Press.

Whiten A et al 1999. Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature, 399:682-685.

 

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