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The Gulf Between Men and Monkeys

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The Macaque Connection

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR,volume 43))

Abstract

In common with other wildlife species, most discussions on human–other primate interactions also appear as conflict-oriented. Conflict is a critical component of the human–other primate interface, but it is essential to recognise that other forms of associations also exist between human and non-human primate species. As a group, macaques are perhaps the best exemplars of the multiplicity of relationships that may exist between human and other animal species. In this chapter I explore the notions of ‘conflict’ and ‘cooperation’ as two categories of associations that exist between humans and macaques and discuss how social construction deeply impacts the tone and form of human-macaque relations. I conclude by briefly describing the objective of the book and present a quick glimpse into the myriad perspectives offered by the various chapters of the book.

I owe the title of this chapter to Cook (1999) who talks about the gulf between men and monkeys in his essay on Ibn Qutayba and the monkeys.

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Acknowledgements

I am immensely grateful to T R Shankar Raman, Michael Huffman and Anindya Sinha for their patient reading of this chapter; their insightful comments helped to significantly improve an earlier version of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, 560 012, India

    Sindhu Radhakrishna

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  1. Sindhu Radhakrishna
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Correspondence to Sindhu Radhakrishna .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

    Sindhu Radhakrishna

  2. Kyoto University, Primate Research Institute, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, 484-8506, Aichi, Japan

    Michael A. Huffman

  3. National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

    Anindya Sinha

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Radhakrishna, S. (2013). The Gulf Between Men and Monkeys. In: Radhakrishna, S., Huffman, M., Sinha, A. (eds) The Macaque Connection. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects, vol 43. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3967-7_1

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