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A Comparative Approach to Reconstructing the Socioecology of Extinct Primates

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Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record

Part of the book series: Advances in Primatology ((AIPR))

Abstract

Some aspects of behavior can be reconstructed in the fossil record because structure and function (i.e., behavior) are directly linked. For instance, one may be able to reconstruct the diet of an extinct taxon based on a variety of morphological features that are known to have certain functions among extant species. Many chapters in this book follow this approach, which, for all its limitations (Kay and Cartmill, 1977; Kay, 1984), may produce the most reliable reconstructions of the behavior and ecology of extinct species.

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  1. Charles L. Nunn

    Present address: Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708-0383, USA

    Charles L. Nunn & Carel P. Van Schaik

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  1. Charles L. Nunn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

    J. Michael Plavcan

  2. Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Richard F. Kay  & Carel P. van Schaik  & 

  3. Department of Anatomical Sciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    William L. Jungers

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Nunn, C.L., Van Schaik, C.P. (2002). A Comparative Approach to Reconstructing the Socioecology of Extinct Primates. In: Plavcan, J.M., Kay, R.F., Jungers, W.L., van Schaik, C.P. (eds) Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record. Advances in Primatology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1343-8_5

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