Write 6 pages thesis on the topic social structure similarities between humans and baboons. Most of the sources in this paper are derived from the works of Robert Sapolsky, a professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Dorothy L. Cheney, a professor of Biology, and Robert M. Seyfarth, a professor of Psychology. The work of Sapolsky focuses on issues on stress while the work of Cheney and Seyfarth focuses on the evolution of the social mind of baboons.

Baboons maintain a large group for their survival and reproduction. Each group consists of up to 100 individuals. This is considerably larger than most chimpanzee communities. (Cheney and Seyfarth) In this culture, baboons need to work together as one collective unit to create more of their species and to keep their community running. Each member has an obligation to the community, whether that be bearing children, taking care of children, providing food for the clan, or offering protection for the clan. The philosophy behind any community is that no one individual is capable of complete self-sufficiency. support is needed for survival.

And within each community is a web of social hierarchy established by power, size, built, aggressiveness, and alliances. (Anita) This dominancy rank affects their stress physiology, feeding behavior, and growth. (Baboon Social Life) And this hierarchy affects males and females differently.

For females, the effects of rank are subtle but pervasive.

(Baboon Social Life)

For males, there are some periods where high-ranking males enjoy a very great advantage in obtaining a mate. However, there are other periods where lower-ranking males obtain more mating opportunities by forming coalitions with other males that succeed in dislodging high-ranking males from their mates. (Baboon Social Life)

Baboons are similar to humans in their survival and reproduction rates, granted humans may vary from continent to continent but in general humans co-exist in large communities, cities, residential areas, college campuses, etc. Humans as a species depend on each other for survival whether it is an emotional, physical, or mental support system or in a series of import and export systems to gather goods.