Re: Monkeys stone herdsman in Kenya

From: Lloyd Robertson (hawkeye@rongenet.sk.ca)
Date: Sat Mar 11 2000 - 17:56:14 GMT

  • Next message: Joe E. Dees: "Re: Monkeys stone herdsman in Kenya" 

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Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 11:56:14 -0600
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk, memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Lloyd Robertson <hawkeye@rongenet.sk.ca>
Subject: Re: Monkeys stone herdsman in Kenya
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    At 01:59 PM 24/02/00 -0600, Joe E. Dees wrote:
    >To throw unmodified objects does not approach the threshhold of
    >tool use, although it is at the beginning of the appropriation
    >and implementation of the physical environment as an aid to bare
    >bodily activity.. That they co-operated in such an action is not
    >necessarily an example of memetics; wolf packs cooperate in
    >serially chasing down prey. Cooperation can be genetically
    >encoded.

    If it is normal for this species of monkey to cooperate en mass and throw
    rocks at herdsmen then your comparison with wolves may be apt. But if this
    behavior was abnormal and involved a response to unusual pressures then I
    agree with Mark, at some level memetics had to be at work.

    The possible counterpoint that wolf packs may, with population pressure,
    invade human areas which they would not normally do, does not really fit
    unless you can show that the herdsman was either a preditor or potential
    prey and that these monkeys are genetically programmed to throw rocks at
    predators and/or prey.

    Lloyd

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