ABSTRACT
My original title, “Farther Roots of Agricultural Society,” is here rephrased for better accord with the general theme as it was developed in the discussions. The conference put major emphasis on primate biology for reconstructing the social life of early man. Man as an animal was compared anatomically with his various kindred, in particular as to size and topography of the brain. Behavior of monkeys, baboons, and the great apes was considered at length, especially as to their sexual conduct. Thus there were implicit assumptions and explicit inferences that the social life of early man involves a group of behavioral patterns exhibited in simian individuals and communities. My interests as historical geographer lie far afield from such mechanistic biologic thinking and turn to questions of how man explored his habitable world, learned skills and communicated them to others of his kind, and diversified his ways of living, in short became maker of culture.
