A recent study in the American Journal of Primatology examined chimp attacks on humans in Guinea, West Africa. There were not many — only 11 attacks, all non-fatal, between 1995 and 2009. Because chimps are often subject to human predation and eaten as bushmeat, one might expect that such attacks would be followed by swift [...]
Entries Tagged as 'totems'
Chimp Attacks & Non-Retribution
August 29th, 2010 · No Comments · Classifications, Evolution
Tags:Aboriginal·Aborigines·bonobo·bushmeat·chimp attacks·chimpanzees·chimps·Emile Durkheim·Guinea·Inside the Minds of Animals·Jeffrey Kluger·Kanzi·Kimberly Hocking·last common ancestor·totem beliefs·totemism·totems·West Africa
Nationalism as Religion
July 20th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Civil Religion, Classifications, Cultural Evolution, Definitions, History, New Religions, Power, Ritual
In a previous post, Religious Wars and Nationalism, I discussed two factors that play a major role in group cohesion. The first factor, which played a dominant role for the majority of human evolution, was extended and fictive kinship. This is what primarily held groups together during the Paleolithic. After the Neolithic Revolution, another factor [...]
Tags:Benedict Anderson·Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Revisiting Civil Religion·Carolyn Marvin·Civil Religion·David Ingle·Durkheim·group cohesion·group identity·group level selection·guardians of faith·high priests·hymnals·Imagined Communities·kinship·liturgy·nationalism·Neolithic Revolution·Paleolithic·patriotism·patriots·religion·religiosity·religious violence·ritual leaders·ritual objects·Robert Bellah·sacred places·sacred texts·saints·temples·totemism·totems
