Apples Cause Orgies! (At least, among certain primates)

[elfs]

There's a lot to like in this:

Bonobos like apples. They like them a lot. As a matter of fact, it’s difficult to do bonobo research without a supply of green apples to motivate them to do the experiments.

But they like group harmony most of all. And the sudden appearance of the apples in their midst immediately raises the threat of discord. Who will get to eat the apples?

If these were chimpanzees, the strongest males would immediately claim the fruit. There would be a fair amount of shoving, and possibly some bloodshed.

But bonobos are so communal that the tension produced by something so precious as an apple in their midst must be dispelled by a gesture of community. In this case, everyone gets to cool off with a little sexual comfort from their neighbor. Then, self-interest replaced by a certain yummy group feeling, they settle down to share the apple.

It's too bad that we come from the chimpanzee, and not bonobo, line of hominids.

Comments

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

Bonobo Eris is pleased.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_candide_/]

Actually, I've heard that we come from both.

Or more to the point, bonobos aren't merely some freak-branch of chimpanzee, they, the "regular" chimps, and we are all branches of the same root stock. And we humans share traits of both. (In fact, IIRC we're genetically-closer to bonobos than the other kinds of chimpanzee.)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, this. The divergence of human primates happened before the divergence of chimpanzees and bonobos; we are either equally related to both, or slightly more related to the bonobo, depending on whose genome mappings you find more accurate.

The mythology that humans are more closely related to chimpanzees than bonobos comes almost completely from sexism among observers. See Frans de Waal's great article (http://www.primates.com/bonobos/bonobosexsoc.html) on the topic.

(Here from James D. Nicoll's flist; we don't know each other, but this is a pet subject of mine so I had to barge in.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_candide_/]

Yay for Pet Subjects! ^_^

[polydad.livejournal.com]

*Ook*

grooms Elf

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

Certainly puts a new spin on the greek mythology surrounding the golden apple.

Lesbian goddess orgy. Hmmm.

In an unrelated note...

[stephaniesmom.livejournal.com]

I figured you just had to share the pain... How stupid is this woman? http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jacobs-birds-are-dying-because-dadt-repeal

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

*Giggles* Apples causing discord. Who'd'a thunk it?

[sianmink.livejournal.com]

I see what you did there.

So does that mean...

[pandakahn.livejournal.com]

Wow, does that mean we are having an 'Eris'tetilian argument?

(sorry about he spelling of that one....


MPK

Evolutionary descent.

[pandakahn.livejournal.com]

My understanding, based on my time at university, was that while we are descended from both, we are genetically closer to Bonobos than Chimpanzees.

Even if we aren't, who doesn't wish a world based on cooperation and communal sex over what we have now. Hey wait! Isn't that the premise behind all of the Pendor stories?

MPK