The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans: Comparative Perspectives

by Edited by Sue Taylor Parker , Robert W. Mitchell , H. Lyn Miles

• ISBN13: 9780521031936
• ISBN10: 0521031931
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-11-23
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Research on the mental abilities of chimpanzees and bonobos has been widely celebrated and used in reconstructions of human evolution. In contrast, scant attention has been paid to the abilities of gorillas and orangutans. This volume aims to complete the picture of hominoid cognition by bringing together the work on gorillas and orangutans and setting it in comparative perspective. This book's introductory chapters set the evolutionary context for comparing cognition in gorillas and orangutans to that of chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. The remaining chapters focus primarily on the kinds and levels of intelligence displayed by orangutans and gorillas compared to other great apes, including performances in the classic domains of tool use and tool making, imitation, self awareness, social communication, and symbol use.

Table of Contents

List of contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

Comparative Evolutionary and Developmental Perspectives on Gorillas and Orangutans

Hominid family values: morphological and molecular data on relations among the great apes and humans

The life history and development of great apes in comparative perspective

The frontal lobes of the great apes with a focus on the gorilla and the orangutan

Cognition and Tool Use in Gorillas and Orangutans

Intelligent tool use in wild Sumatran orangutans

Orangutans' imitation of tool use: a cognitive interpretation

Object manipulation and skill organization in the complex food preparation of mountain gorillas

Development of sensorimotor intelligence in infant gorillas: the manipulation of objects in problem-solving and exploration

Tool use in captive gorillas

A survey of tool use in zoo gorillas

Communication in Gorillas and Orangutans

Symbolic communication with and by great apes

The development of spontaneous gestural communication in a group of zoo-living lowland gorillas

Early sign-language acquisition: comparisons between children and gorillas

Early sign performance in a free-ranging, adult orangutan

Social Cognition in Gorillas and Orangutans

Comparative aspects of mirror self-recognition in great apes

Deception and concealment as strategic script violation in great apes and humans

Levels of imitation and cognitive mechanisms in orangutans

Parental encouragement in Gorilla in comparative perspective: implications for social cognition and the evolution of teaching

The development of social roles in the play of an infant gorilla and its relationship to sensorimotor intellectual development

Epilogue

The mentalities of gorillas and orangutans in phlyogenetic perspective

Index of authors

Index of subjects

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