Aug
15
Neanderthal and Human Matings Get a Date
Two years ago the analysis of the Neanderthal genome revealed modern humans carry Neanderthal DNA, implying our ancestors mated with Neanderthals at some point in the past. Scientists only found genetic traces of Neanderthals in non-African people, leading to the conclusion that Neanderthal-human matings must have occurred as modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the world. A new paper (PDF) posted on arXiv.org puts a date on those matings: 47,000 to 65,000 years ago—a time that does indeed correspond with human migrations out of Africa.
Yet looking “primitive/less-evolved” is a racist term used against blacks. Good going douchebags, karma’s a bitch, huh?
![embleer:
The bonobo is popularly known for its high levels of sexual behavior. Sex functions in conflict appeasement, affection, social status, excitement, and stress reduction. It occurs in virtually all partner combinations and in a variety of positions. This is a factor in the lower levels of aggression seen in the bonobo when compared to the common chimpanzee and other apes. Bonobos are perceived to be matriarchal: females tend to collectively dominate males by forming alliances and use sexuality to control males. A male’s rank in the social hierarchy is often determined by his mother’s rank.
Sexual social behavior
Sexual intercourse plays a major role in bonobo society observed in captivity, being used as what some scientists perceive as a greeting, a means of forming social bonds, a means of conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconciliation.[30] Bonobos are the only non-human animal to have been observed engaging in all of the following sexual activities: face-to-face genital sex (although a pair of Western Gorillas has been photographed performing face-to-face genital sex[31]), tongue kissing, and oral sex.[32] In scientific literature, the female-female behavior of touching genitals together is often referred to as GG rubbing or genital-genital rubbing. The sexual activity happens within the immediate community and sometimes outside of it. Bonobos do not form permanent monogamous sexual relationships with individual partners. They also do not seem to discriminate in their sexual behavior by sex or age, with the possible exception of abstaining from sexual intercourse between mothers and their adult sons. When bonobos come upon a new food source or feeding ground, the increased excitement will usually lead to communal sexual activity, presumably decreasing tension and encouraging peaceful feeding
Bonobo males occasionally engage in various forms of male-male genital behavior.[33][34] In one form, two males hang from a tree limb face-to-face while “penis fencing”.[35][33] This also may occur when two males rub their penises together while in face-to-face position. Another form of genital interaction (“rump rubbing”) occurs to express reconciliation between two males after a conflict, when they stand back-to-back and rub their scrotal sacs together. Takayoshi Kano observed similar practices among bonobos in the natural habitat.
Bonobo females also engage in female-female genital behavior, possibly to bond socially with each other, thus forming a female nucleus of bonobo society. The bonding among females enables them to dominate bonobo society. Although male bonobos are individually stronger, they cannot stand alone against a united group of females.[33] Adolescent females often leave their native community to join another community. Sexual bonding with other females establishes these new females as members of the group. This migration mixes the bonobogene pools, providing genetic diversity.
Peacefulness
Observations in the wild indicate that the males among the related common chimpanzee communities are extraordinarily hostile to males from outside the community. Parties of males ‘patrol’ for the unfortunate neighbouring males who might be traveling alone, and attack those single males, often killing them.[43] This does not appear to be the behavior of bonobo males or females in their own communities, where they seem to prefer sexual contact over violent confrontation with outsiders. In fact, the Japanese scientists who have spent the most time working with wild bonobos describe the species as extraordinarily peaceful, and De Waal has documented how bonobos may often resolve conflicts with sexual contact (hence the “make love – not war” characterization for the species). Between groups social mingling may occur, in which members of different communities have sex and groom each other, behaviour which is unheard of among common chimpanzees. Conflict is still possible between rival groups of bonobos, but no official scientific reports of it exist. The ranges of bonobos and chimpanzees are separated by the Congo River with bonobos living south of the river and chimpanzees living north of the river.[44][45] It has been hypothesized that bonobos are able to live a more peaceful lifestyle in part because of an abundance of nutritious vegetation in their natural habitat, allowing them to travel and forage in large parties.[46]
The popular image of the bonobo as a peaceful ape does not always apply to captive populations. Accounts exist of bonobos confined inzoos mutilating one another and engaging in bullying. These incidents may be due to the practice in zoos of separating mothers and sons, which is contrary to their social organization in the wild. Bonobo society is dominated by females, and severing the lifelong alliance between mothers and their male offspring may make them vulnerable to female aggression. De Waal has warned of the danger of romanticizing bonobos: “All animals are competitive by nature and cooperative only under specific circumstances” as well as writing that “when first writing about their behavior, I spoke of ‘sex for peace’ precisely because bonobos had plenty of conflicts. There would obviously be no need for peacemaking if they lived in perfect harmony.” There is no eyewitness account of lethal aggression among bonobos, neither in captivity nor in the wild.
Then it is decided, by natural selection, that lust and aggression are, in fact, advantageous adaptations. Huzzah for rough sex.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyivjyQFFt1qb0b8lo1_400.jpg)
