Abstract
The antecedents and consequences of a change in status in the female line have been documented in the course of an ongoing study of a captive colony ofMacaca fascicularis. A conjunction of two events appears to have been a cause of the timing. The first is the maturation of the eldest female offspring of the subordinate lineage, and the second the insertion of an intrauterine device into the mother of that lineage. These changes made these two females simultaneously sexual associates of the adult male, while the dominant female of the other lineage was still pregnant. In the course of these events the maturing sub-adult female of the subordinate lineage underwent the most dramatic change of status, eventually rising from the lowest position to that of alpha female. The complex changes which heralded this alternation in status are described in terms of the referent relations and alliances which were evolving in the group.
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The word “revolution” is reserved for a change in the type of social structure brough about by insurrection: rebellion occurs when insurrection changes the position of the individuals in a structure which is itself left unchanged -vide, Webster’s English Dictionary.
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Chance, M.R.A., Emory, G.R. & Payne, R.G. Status referents in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis): Precursors and effects of a female rebellion. Primates 18, 611–632 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02383139
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02383139