In quest of the sacred baboon : a scientist's journey / Hans Kummer ; translated by M. Ann Biederman-Thorson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kummer, Hans, 1930- author.

Contributor:

Biederman-Thorson, M. Ann, translator.

Series:

Princeton legacy library.

Princeton Legacy Library

Standardized Title:

Weisse Affen am roten Meer. English

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Hamadryas baboon--Behavior.

Hamadryas baboon.

Social behavior in animal.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (370 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 1995.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In a tale that begins at a zoo in Zurich and takes us across the deserts of Ethiopia to the Asir Mountains in Saudi Arabia, Hans Kummer recreates the adventure and intellectual thrill of the early days of field research on primates. Just as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey introduced readers to the fascinating lives of chimpanzees and gorillas, Kummer brings us face to face with the Hamadryas baboon. With their furry white mantles and gleaming red hindquarters, the Hamadryas appear frequently in the art of the ancient Egyptians--who may have interpreted the baboons' early morning grooming rituals as sun-worshiping rites. Back then, Hamadryas were thought to be incarnates of Thoth, the god of wisdom; today they are considered to have one of the most highly structured social systems among primates, very close, in some respects, to that of humans. In the 1960s, Kummer, after conflicts with nomadic warriors, managed to track down these elusive baboons near the Danakil Desert, and then followed them from dawn to dusk on their treks from one feeding place to another. His scientific account of this period reads like a travel memoir as he describes his encounters with the Hamadryas and the people with whom they share the desert. Winding his way through cliffs and stubble, Kummer records the baboons' social life, from the development of pair relationships to the way an entire group decides where to march each day. Much like the human nomads who cope with the harsh demands of the desert environment, the Hamadryas maintain a society that is strict and patriarchal in its details but multilayered and flexible in its largest units. We learn, for example, of the Hamadryas' respect for possession that protects family structure and of the cohesion among family leaders that lessens the threat of battle. At the same time, clear-cut personalities emerge from Kummer's account, drawing us into the life stories and power struggles of individual baboons. Whereas this rich detail holds many implications for natural scientists, the colorful way it comes to life makes for a compelling book bound to entertain and educate all readers.Originally published in 1995.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

MAP OF STUDY AREA

PREFACE. Return to Red Rock

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION. The Hamadryas Baboon: A Desert Saint and Lecher

CHAPTER ONE. The Zoo Baboons

CHAPTER TWO. On to Ethiopia

CHAPTER THREE. The One-Sided Marriage

CHAPTER FOUR. Tensions, Conventions, and Alliances among Males

CHAPTER FIVE. Life Histories

CHAPTER SIX. Experts in a Thorny Land

CHAPTER SEVEN. Anatomy of the Social Relationship

CHAPTER EIGHT. The Net and the Sword

CHAPTER NINE. The Eye of the Beholder

CHAPTER TEN. Mahdi

CHAPTER ELEVEN. The Likely Evolution of Hamadryas Society: A Reconstruction and a Summary

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780691628929

0691628920

9780691603360

0691603367

OCLC:

995584763