ABSTRACT
In the 1970s and 1980s, the field of primatology transformed as it sought theoretical and methodological guidance beyond the domain of anthropological practice, and primate behavioral ecology, an evolutionary approach derived from ethology and biology, came to dominate. Chapter 4 explores this transformation. At the same time, primatologists were increasingly encountering primate populations that were not living in environments free from human influence. The author highlights why it is important to study primate behavior in such settings: to explore primate adaptability at work. To do so, however, requires drawing from an extended evolutionary approach that adopts a more dynamic view of adaptation, aims to explain behavioral variation in contemporary environments that include the human dimension, and incorporates additional principles and processes at play, such as behavioral plasticity and niche construction.
