DNA & Genomics Project

Abstract
Through the studying of an ape species known as a bonobo, scientists have been able to learn more about the theory of evolution. Susan Savage-Rumbaugh speaks to an audience about her experience with this ape species meanwhile showing videos of direct interactions with the bonobos. The bonobo is a fascinating species to study in their habitat and Susan had a front row pass to this amazing learning opportunity. As Susan engages in interactions with these apes we are able to see extraordinary similarities between this species and our own. However humans are not the only ones doing the studying. The bonobo is a naturally curios species which spikes their interest in the human culture. The bi-species interactions all day long between bonobos and humans not only enables humans to study and learn from bonobos, but for bonobos to study and develop due to the influence of the humans around them. Susan watches and allows these apes to grow and learn on their own without directly forcing them to learn. While watching the interactions between bonobos and humans the audience is able to see the intelligence of the bonobo as it easily picks up and learns how to use human tools, like a lighter for instance. Scientist are concluding that the bonobo is able to develop and have come to believe their intelligence could quite possibly come to be equivalent to that of a human.



Biography of Susan Savage-Rumbaugh
Susan Savage-Rumbaugh is a primatologist best known for questioning the dominance of human beings due to their biological make-up. Instead she insists man is so developed due to our “social environment”. Her studies behind her hypothesis come from her time investigating bonobos, a type of ape. Savage’s studies began at the University of Oklahoma where she received her Masters in Sciences and later on went to complete her doctorate. Along with her impressive educational background, Susan was awarded honorary Ph.D.s by both the University of Chicago and Missouri State. She joined Great Ape Trust where she was the first and only scientist to conduct language research with bonobos. Susan operated under the idea that bonobos were capable of language much like humans. Following her time with the Great Ape Trust, she spent the next 30 years with Georgia State University’s Language Research Center. While working with the apes, Susan pioneered introducing a number of technologies to the bonobo ape. With her studies Susan came to the conclusion that these primates were capable of learning language. After retiring, Susan continued working on her own basis, which includes continued research, writing and lecturing.



http://www.ted.com/speakers/susan_savage_rumbaugh.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Savage-Rumbaugh
http://www.greatapetrust.org/science/scientists-biographies/sue-savage-rumbaugh

Vocabulary
Egalitarian
-asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life.

Australopithecine
-of, pertaining to, or resembling the genus Australopithecus or its members.

Field studies
-a term used by naturalists for the scientific study of free-living wild animals in which the subjects are observed in their natural habitat, without changing, harming, or materially altering the setting or behavior of the animals under study.

Bipedally
The use of two feet

Evolution
-the change in the inherited traits in a population of organisms through successive generations

Language acquisition
-the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate

Pan homo culture
-Characterized by changes in the behavior of each species

Bi-species
-Of two different sub-species groups


http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/sage/linguistic-cultural-and-cognitive-capacities-of-bonobos-pan-paniscus-0dORoLkZYD
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org/


Themes
Theme 1: Science is a Process
The theory of evolution is a scientific hypothesis about the nature of our creation. There is no other way to prove the validity of this theory of evolution, other than by studying examples of it. Scientists such as Susan Savage-Rumbaugh have taken the time to study a species known as a bonobo, which is similar to the ape species. The bonobo species provides evidence of relation to the human species by not only physical traits but also closeness in mental capacity. Through inductive reasoning, scientists have come to relate the bonobo species to human beings beginnings as australopithecines. The idea that another species may be so closely linked to the human species, sheds great light onto the idea of evolution. This species originally came from the ape species which most commonly uses all four limbs to walk. However, the bonobo has evolved to the point that it walks on two legs leaving its arms free and able to work, just as any human does. The entire pathway to proving the theory of evolution strains from a long tedious discovery process. Without the knowledge of the bonobos capacity to learn, the theory of evolution would not have been able to be deduced thus far.
Theme 2: Evolution
Evolution is a highly controversial subject that challenges the ideas of many religions. However the proof of evolution is undeniable as it can be seen and studied first hand with a creature known as the bonobo. The bonobo is a type of ape who scientists believe can be similarly compared to our earliest ancestor, Lucy an australopithecine of the ape species. The bonobos are able to stand and even walk bipedal, demonstrating their ability to adapt to their surroundings. Walking bipedal has great advantages for this species, as they are now able to use their hands for other chores, making them a very advanced species. Thanks to Susan Savage-Rumbaugh’s studies, and time spent with the bonobos, evidence points to the idea that the bonobo is able to learn language. The scientists who work with the bonobos have provided the bonobos with a type of keyboard that has symbols, which stand for different things. For example one key is in the shape of an upside down V, and therefore stands for a tent that is located outside in the woods. One day, one of the bonobos wanted to go outside, it then got a piece of chalk and began drawing a picture of the key that represents the tent, the bonobo was expressing through written language that it wanted to go outside. This is the only other known species other than humans that is able to express written language. This is an outstanding achievement for this species as it represents the ability of the bonobo to grow learn and adapt to its surroundings. The written language of humans is not the only thing the bonobo is trying to adapt to. As the bonobos spend an immense amount of time with humans, they are able to study and learn from their habits. One scientist in the lab played the piano, as a bonobo watched this, it learned and wanted to try. The scientists do not teach the bonobos but allow them to learn from their own peaked curiosity. The bonobos have proved themselves to be a very evolved species, and with time it is believed they may have the same mental abilities as any human organism.