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Thesis ID: CBB001561603

Primates in the Real World: Place, Practice and the History of Primate Field Studies, 1924--1970 (2005)

Beatty, John H.
University of Minnesota
Kohlstedt, Sally Gregory

Publication Date: 2005
Edition Details: Advisors: Beatty, John; Sally Gregory Kohlstedt
Physical Details: 232 pp.
Language: English

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Biology Primates Field work 20th century Carpenter, Clarence Ray Yerkes, Robert Mearns

This dissertation examines how the field was conceptualized as a place for primate studies between 1924 and 1970. The careers of Robert Mearns Yerkes (1876-1956) and Clarence Ray Carpenter (1905-1975) provide a lens through which to analyze the use of distinctions between natural and artificial and observation and modification in the promotion of fieldwork. Their emphasis on the value of the field is contextualized by an examination of the obstacles faced by field researchers seeking scientific credibility including the lack of techniques with which to demonstrate the advantages of non-laboratory research. Carpenter's work serves to illustrate how primate studies adopted naturalist practices and innovative methods to prove that field studies of primate behavior could indeed meet scientific standards. Over time, the application of experiment to fieldwork challenged its ability to enable observation of natural behavior, a fundamental value of such research. In response to this contradiction the meaning of naturalness underwent a series of changes during the twentieth century, over time allowing naturalness to be attributed to behaviors observed with varying degrees of modification. As a result of interactions between place, practice and scientific values, the types of sites and methods used for field studies of primate behavior were highly dynamic during the twentieth century with some embodying naturalist ideals of naturalness and observation while others represented a greater degree of artificiality and modification. This diversity is illustrated by Carpenter's research in the wilderness and in semi-natural field sites and by Yerkes' studies of primates in private estates, country farms and zoological parks. Their research demonstrates the dynamic characteristics of field studies during this period while also revealing the contributions made by individuals without formal scientific training, including women and hunter-collectors, to primate research. Thus, the analysis provided by this dissertation enriches historical understanding of the field and fieldwork and illustrates how place and practice were used to define, defend and promote field studies of primate behavior.

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Description Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 66/12 (2006): 4509. UMI pub. no. 3198123.

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