Anthropologists have traditionally ignored the New World primates because they are not in the mainstream of evolution leading to the human species. Yet, because they exhibit parallel adaptations to those of apes and Old World monkeys – tool use, a wider variety of mating systems, and parallels to human language - they provide us with a unique source of information. This book, whose contributors are leading experts on various aspects of New World monkeys, explores the tremendous diversity to be found among neotropical primate species that have adapted to the highly varied Central and South American ecosystems. These studies provide striking similarities to, as well as intriguing differences from, the heretofore better known adaptations in the Old World. In the process, they shed new light upon the evolutionary process as it is played out among our primate relations on a neotropical stage.
Part Two of the book consists of an authoritative synopsis completed before his death by the late Dr. Kinzey, describing basic behavior for each genus of the sixteen known New World genera, along with maps locating their habitats.
