Spotlight on Students: Endangered Primate Profile

The following is a guest post featuring the work of a student enrolled in SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology.  This exceptional work highlights the importance of primate conservation.  I hope you find this piece informative and are inspired to make a positive change in the world that will help this and other endangered primates.

Golden Langur (Source: Animalia.bio)

By: Emma Nunamaker

As one of the many inhabitants of this world, humans have a responsibility to coexist with the flora and fauna. Yet we pose some of the biggest threats to their existence. Primates face threats of habitat loss, fragmentation, deforestation, poaching, and numerous other challenges. The golden langur is only one of the endangered primate species that are fighting for their next generation, and by learning about their unique struggles, we take a step further in making the world safer for all primates.

The golden langur is a primate with bright yellow fur that inhabits the patches of forest native to India and Bhutan. Arboreal, and with a main diet of leaves, fruits, and plant life, these creatures make homes in evergreen forest canopies. Their elevated habitat also protects them from predators. Golden langurs are known to have highly diverse social groups with unique mixes of males and females, and occasionally an all-male troop or a solitary male. Currently, they are distributed in fragmented regions around the intersections of the Manas, Sankosh, and Brahmaputra rivers (Schwitzer et al. 55-58). Their small distribution is no surprise—one of the biggest threats to golden langurs is the shrinkage of their habitat. The IUCN reports that this species has lost over 50% of its original habitat due to human activity, officially classifying them as endangered (Schwitzer et al. 55-58). Many other factors have contributed to their decline. Wildlife biologist Phuntsho Thinley and his colleagues performed a thorough risk assessment and identified some of these anthropogenic factors among 107 incidents, which are as follows: “50 (46.7%) electrocutions, 30 (28%) road kills, 15 (14%) dog kills, six (5.6%) retaliatory killings, four (3.7%) road injuries, and two cases (1.9%) of pet keeping from June 2012–June 2019” (Thinley et al. 257–266). These percentages are small, but relative to the steady decline of golden langurs in the past few decades.

Sanctuaries exist for the golden langur and other endangered species in India and Bhutan. In Bhutan, national parks like Royal Manas National Park are protected areas for the golden langur. The only such area in India is The Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, which houses the largest and safest population of golden langurs in India, numbering 500 and counting (Dilip et al. 81–86). A study done by Dilip Chery and other researchers details how even with the growing strength of the golden langur troops in the sanctuary, the density of the population poses concerns of overcrowding. Another issue, too, is how to connect the fragments of habitat where they reside. The researchers suggest that forest corridors can be built of bamboo to connect these primates to other patches of suitable habitat and allow for healthy dispersal and room to grow (Dilip et al. 81–86). Even in these protected areas, lethal dog attacks still occur on the perimeters due to the several human villages that surround the sanctuary. In the book Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology, researchers speak on a community-based conservation effort, where communities are encouraged to educate themselves on the endangered species around them and the accidental harm their practices may perpetrate (Shook, Beth, et al. 665-694). This system may benefit the villages around Chakrishila Wildlife Sanctuary and help decrease the amount of domestic dog attacks on golden langurs. While these are only proposals, the value of these surveys and observations cannot be understated. Impactful decisions cannot be made without accurate statistics and authentic research, and like all other primates, the golden langur species depend on this essential first step.

The reasons behind primate conservation efforts are complex and motivating. Their positive impact on ecosystems, culture, and evolutionary study across the world is poignant. In an environmental sense, primates often act as pollinators. Golden langurs stimulate the ecosystem by eating fruit and dispersing the seeds into soil for further vegetative growth. (Shook, Beth, et al. 665-694). Like many primates, they are one integral part of a delicate ecosystem, and even more so, these primates are marks of our ancestry that we are still trying to understand. Primates’ innate human-like behaviors are reflections of our own, and to lose these unique species means to lose a part of our history.

Fostering the idea that primates are not just animals, but rather partners in maintaining this planet we share, could shed light on the dire threats they are facing as well as the valiant efforts made by researchers, conservationists, and others throughout the world. To coexist means to respect one another; to respect one another is to make continuous, diligent effort towards making this planet a safe place for all species to thrive.

 

Works Cited

Chetry, Dilip, et al. “Status and Conservation of Golden Langur in Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India.” Primate Conservation, vol. 25, no. 1, Dec. 2010, pp. 81–86, https://doi.org/10.1896/052.025.0112.

Schwitzer, Christoph, et al. Primates in Peril. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group/International Primatological Society/Conservation International/Bristol Zoological Society, 2016, pp. 55-58

Shook, Beth, et al. Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology. 2nd ed., Arlington, Va: American Anthropological Association, 2019, pp. 665-694.

Thinley, Phuntsho, et al. “Conservation Threats to the Endangered Golden Langur (Trachypithecus Geei, Khajuria 1956) in Bhutan.” Primates, vol. 61, no. 2, 5 Dec. 2019, pp. 257–266, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00777-2.

 

Archaeological Examples of Cannibalism

As recently discussed on this blog cannibalism is a universal taboo, meaning societies and cultures around the world agree that it is prohibited.  This does not, however, appear to have been the case among some of our human ancestors (e.g., Homo antecessor and Paranthropus boisei), who practiced cannibalism for unknown reasons.  It also occurred in the archaeological record among some specific populations, although the reasons for not observing this taboo are imprecisely known.  Today's blog post addresses three separate archaeological examples of cannibalism among anatomically modern humans:

 

Figure 1: Skull cup of the Magdelanian culture 

 

Cannibalism among Paleolithic Europeans 

Among the Magdalenian populations (15,000-12,000 years before present) cannibalism was quite frequent and commonplace.  As previously addressed on this blog there is evidence of Magdelanian populations cannibalizing fellow humans. There are several examples of the Magdalenian people modifying human bones into cups (Figure 1) and jewelry, which further supports cannibalism occurring among these populations.  This evidence has been found at sites in England, France, and Spain.  For many decades scholars believed these were acts of mortuary cannibalism, meaning the consumption of the dead for funerary purposes, but more recent evidence out of Poland suggests that these acts may have either been gastric or warfare cannibalistic events, which means they ate people as part of their regular diet or as an act of revenge (respectively).  The evidence of other foods resources, of which there were plenty, rules out survival cannibalism (consuming human flesh as a last resort).

 

Figure 2: Mesa Verde, Ancestral Puebloan site

 

Cannibalism among the Ancestral Puebloans 

The Ancestral Puebloans of the American Southwest (Figure 2) also practiced cannibalism.  At the site of Cowboy Wash (dating between 900 CE to 1300 CE) there is evidence of cannibalism taking place, although the motivations remain unclear.  There are those who put forward the idea that it was warfare cannibalism to keep out enemies who were intruding on Ancestral Puebloans territory.  Others believe it may have been an act of survival cannibalism, particularly as we know the downfall of the Ancestral Puebloan society was due to climatic changes that led to desertification and famine.  Substantial violence was recorded during this period.  Still others claim the evidence is inconclusive of cannibalism altogether despite there being evidence of cannibalism at over 70 sites throughout the region.

Figure 3: Mr. & Mrs. Henry Reed, members of the Donner Party

Cannibalism among the American Settlers

Then there is the Donner Party, probably one of the more popular examples of cannibalism.  This is the failed emigration of residents from Illinois, Missouri, and other Midwestern states to California.  They left Independence, Missouri, following a trail guide with little experience and who had never taken the specific route he claimed would get everyone to their final destination quickly and safely. A series of unfortunate events and poor decisions led the Donner Party (so named after a member of the group) to separate and eventually get trapped in the Sierra Nevadas. The settlers were trapped for several months, and they resorted to survival cannibalism when they did not have food resources.  Archaeological evidence at one of the camps was improperly reported in popular media as having no evidence of cannibalism occurring there, when the reality was that the evidence demonstrated human and animal remains were present. Unfortunately, the remains were in too poor condition to be able to identify if and to what extent cannibalism took place.  Because of the historic reports (specifically interviews of the survivors) of cannibalism we do know that cannibalism took place among the Donner Party survivors (and some of those who did not survive).

 

References

Bello, S., Saladie, P., Caceras, I., Rodriguez-Hidalgo, A., & Parfitt, S. (2015). Upper Paleolithic Ritualistic Cannibalism at Gough's Cave (Somerset, UK): The Human Remains from Head to Toe. Journal of Human Evolution, 170-189.

Caceras, I. a. (1999). Human cannibalism in the early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Journal of Human Evolution, 591-622.

Dixon, K., Novak, S., Robbins, G., Schablitsky, J., Scott, G., & Tasa, G. (2010). "Men, Women, and Children Starving": Archaeology of the Donner Family Camp. American Antiquity, 627-656.

Lindenbaum, S. (2004). Thinking About Cannibalism. Annual Reviews of Anthropology, 475-498.

Lukaschek, K. (2000/2001). The History of Cannibalism. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.

Marginedas, F., Saladié, P., Połtowicz-Bobak, M., Terberger, T., Bobak, D., & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. (2025). New insights of cultural cannibalism amongst Magdalenian groups at Maszycka Cave, Poland. Scientific Reports, 2351.

Pobiner, B., Pante, M., & Keevil, T. (2023). Early Pleistocene cut marked hominin fossil from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Scientific Reports, 9896.

Rudolph, K. (2009). A TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HUMAN SKELETAL MATERIAL FROM AZTALAN: CANNIBALISM, HOSTILITY AND MORTUARY VARIABILITY. Milwaukee: The University of Wisconsin.

Saladie, P. a.-H. (2017). Archaeological Evidence for Cannibalism in Prehistoric Western Europe: Homo antecessor to the Bronze Age. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 1034-1071.

Saladie, P., Huguet, R., Rodriguez-Hidalgo, A., Caceras, I., Esteban-Nadal, M., Arsuaga, J., . . . Carbonell, E. (2012). Intergroup cannibalism in the European Early Pleistocene: The range expansion and imbalance of power hypotheses. Journal of Human Evolution, 682-695.

Turner, C. A. and J.A. Turner (1999). Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press.

Villa, P. (1992). Cannibalism in Prehistoric Europe. Evolutionary Anthropology, 93-104.