Origin of the human family: Comparison with ape societies

Idani, Gen'ichi

Human being is a member among primates over 300 species. We hold characteristic common with various primates in morphology and physiology. Our behaviors and societies are also shown a lot of point in common with other primates. Namely, the characteristic of human is the result that we have evolved as the primate. Among all primates, however, only human has a social unit as "family". Even apes that are the closest relative to human have not the social unit as “family" In 1974, D. Johanson and T. White, the anthropologist, discovered fossils of the Hominidae, Australopithecus afarensis, who lived 3.75 million years ago in Hadar, Ethiopia. These fossils were placed as a lineal ancestor to the human race, and those were named "the first family” because fossils of 13 individuals (both sexes including children) were excavated at the same ruins. G. Murdock (1978) pointed out that the human social life is formed on sex, reproduction, education and economy and the social unit which can have those function is an only “family”. The “family” is a peculiar social unit only human and it may be seen universally in all human society. How was the “family” origin? Unfortunately, life-style, behavioral pattern and society are not fossilized like a morphological characteristic of body and stone implement. For the “family follows a created process, it is only a compare on the various characteristic between humans and apes that have evolved from a common ancestor with human being. K. lmanishi who is a father of Japanese anthropology indicated 4 conditions for definition of the human family allows, (1) incest taboo， (2) exogamy， (3) community, and (4) division of labor. Do the present apes satisfy 4 conditions by lmanishi? In this paper, I would like to consider the origin of the smallest social unit as “family for only humans before approach to the "family love”.

Origin of the human family: Comparison with ape societies

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