ABSTRACT
Non-human and tribal precursors of welfare and kin altruism are described in two papers. In a fascinating report on meat sharing in wild chimpanzees, Linda Marchant shows some of the continuities and differences between humans and their primate cousins. As with humans, kin are given special preference when sharing valuable resources, but this applies mainly to female chimpanzees. Males share with sex partners and male allies. Johan van der Dennen reviews the large literature on co-operation, loyalty and proto-ethnocentrism, discussing how and why loyalty structures and group identification (proto-ethnocentrism) evolve in the context of inter-group agonistic behaviour and male versus female transfer in primates, social carnivores, dolphins, and early hominids; all social and 'brainy' species. He concludes that group identity processes are widespread and adaptive, or were so during evolutionary history. These processes allow individuals to discriminate between in-group and out-groups, and to treat in-group members preferentially in reciprocal, altruistic interactions that provide protection, nepotism, and sharing of resources.
