Non-human primates burying dead.

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Huseng
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Non-human primates burying dead.

Post by Huseng »

A new species has been discovered that apparently buried its dead:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34192447

Fascinating to consider how in the past there were other species capable of symbolic behavior.
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Mkoll
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Re: Non-human primates burying dead.

Post by Mkoll »

That's a huge discovery. Looks like it could be the earliest member of our genus, Homo. AFAIK, the only evidence we have of another species besides ourselves ritually burying their dead are our other close relatives, Homo neanderthalensis, and the earliest evidence of them we have is only a few hundred thousand years old. This find, if confirmed at 3 million years old would push back that kind of behavior much farther. I believe we've assumed that this kind of behavior indicates larger brain size, but this species has tiny brains so that assumption is probably wrong.

A word on the nomenclature: I believe calling them non-human primates is an incorrect use of the term because they've been classified into our genus, Homo. Non-human primates are those primates outside of Homo.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Huseng
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Re: Non-human primates burying dead.

Post by Huseng »

I stand corrected. :cheers:

Yes, it is quite remarkable. I hope they can date the skeletons and site soon. If they buried their dead they presumably engaged in other learned symbolic acts.
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: Non-human primates burying dead.

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

My mother's dog had a symbol. He was an abused and abandoned dog that would not trust my family. Then one January he accidentally fell into the pool. Once we got him out of the cold water he was running around the back yard completely freaked out. We finally caught him and dried him off with a warm towel from the dryer. That towel became more than just a towel. It was at that moment that he really came to know that we understood his suffering and truly cared for him. For the rest of his life that towel became a symbol for the fact that he was loved. He became both possessive and proud of it. Whenever people came over he got it and showed it to them, as if to say, "Here is proof that the world is a beautiful place".

Animals are definitely capable of symbolic understanding.
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treehuggingoctopus
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Re: Non-human primates burying dead.

Post by treehuggingoctopus »

Thank you, smcj, for a truly beautiful story.
Générosité de l’invisible.
Notre gratitude est infinie.
Le critère est l’hospitalité.

Edmond Jabès
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