19.11.2024 - Robert Seyfarth

Nonhuman primates present us with a dilemma: they have a relatively simple communicative repertoire but live in complex societies. How does this work? A simple system functions in a complex society by relying on a large database of social knowledge: structured information about individuals, relationships, and the memory of past events. As one case study, I consider baboons’ hierarchically structured knowledge of other animals’ matrilineal families.