ABSTRACT
In Pierre Boulle’s novel Planet of the Apes (1963), a primate civilization, by imitating human behavior, eventually replaces human culture. For most people, ape cultures exist only in fictionists’ imaginary world. It is generally believed that culture distinguishes humans from other animals, as it does one human group from others. Because culture is specific to humans, Homo sapiens are superior to their sister species in the primate family. Therefore, the prospect for Boulle’s planet of the apes is dim. Dim as it is, decades of detailed observations of primate behavior have led to a groundbreaking discovery: the discovery that ape cultures may exist. This discovery shatters the romantic belief that human beings own a monopolistic claim to culture.
