In Quest of the Sacred Baboon: A Scientist's Journey

by Hans Kummer, M. Ann Biederman-Thorson (Translator)

Overview

In a tale that begins at a zoo in Zurich and takes us across the deserts of Ethiopia to the Asir Mountains in Saudi Arabia, Hans Kummer recreates the adventure and intellectual thrill of the early days of field research on primates. Just as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey introduced readers to the fascinating lives of chimpanzees and gorillas, Kummer brings us face to face with the Hamadryas baboon. With their furry white mantles and gleaming red hindquarters, the Hamadryas appear frequently in the art of the ancient Egyptians—who may have interpreted the baboons' early morning grooming rituals as sun-worshiping rites. Back then, Hamadryas were thought to be incarnates of Thoth, the god of wisdom; today they are considered to have one of the most highly structured social systems among primates, very close, in some respects, to that of humans. In the 1960s, Kummer, after conflicts with nomadic warriors, managed to track down these elusive baboons near the Danakil Desert, and then followed them from dawn to dusk on their treks from one feeding place to another. His scientific account of this period reads like a travel memoir as he describes his encounters with the Hamadryas and the people with whom they share the desert. Winding his way through cliffs and stubble, Kummer records the baboons' social life, from the development of pair relationships to the way an entire group decides where to march each day. Much like the human nomads who cope with the harsh demands of the desert environment, the Hamadryas maintain a society that is strict and patriarchal in its details but multilayered and flexible in its largest units. We learn, for example, of the Hamadryas' respect for possession that protects family structure and of the cohesion among family leaders that lessens the threat of battle. At the same time, clear-cut personalities emerge from Kummer's account, drawing us into the life stories and power struggles of individual baboons. Whereas this rich detail holds many implications for natural scientists, the colorful way it comes to life makes for a compelling book bound to entertain and educate all readers.

Originally published in 1995.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691628929
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	03/21/2017
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #5195
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Illustration Credits

Map of Study Area

Preface: Return to Red Rock

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Hamadryas Baboon: A Desert Saint and Lecher

Ch. 1 The Zoo Baboons

Ch. 2 On to Ethiopia

Ch. 3 The One-Sided Marriage

Ch. 4 Tensions, Conventions, and Alliances among Males

Ch. 5 Life Histories

Ch. 6 Experts in a Thorny Land

Ch. 7 Anatomy of the Social Relationship

Ch. 8 The Net and the Sword

Ch. 9 The Eye of the Beholder

Ch. 10 Mahdi

Ch. 11 The Likely Evolution of Hamadryas Society: A Reconstruction and a Summary

Conclusion

Bibliography

Publications by Authors Outside the Hamadryas Project

Publications on the Hamadryas by the Zurich Group

Films

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Kummer's scientific talent for observation, his love for his subjects, and his magnificent prose make this a powerful and unforgettable book."—Jane Goodall

Editorial Reviews

Ethologist Kummer revisits his 30-plus years of hamadryas baboon field research previously covered in his books Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons: A Field Study (University of Chicago Pr., 1968) and Primate Societies (Aldine, 1971). Writing in a conversational style, he intertwines observations and theories of baboon behavior and social structure with biographical sketches of life in Ethiopia. His format, previously used by orangutan researcher Birute Galdikas in her Reflections of Eden (LJ 12/94), makes for a fascinating and accessible delivery of hard science to lay readers. Though many primate studies have been conducted since Kummer began in 1961, he holds that "the hamadryas baboon stands out among the other species with respect to three characteristics: the rigid, hierarchical social structure, the perfection with which the males lead their harums, and the [baboon's] decision process." For academic and larger public library science collections.-Raymond Hamel, Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Ctr. Lib., Madison

Library Journal

Biologist Kummer's chronicle of his experiences studying the hamadryas baboon in the wilds of Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia is a welcome addition to the literature of primate specialists, which includes BiruteGaldikas' wonderful "Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo". Although Kummer isn't quite as open and entertaining a storyteller as Galdikas, his history of the "dog-head" baboon, a sacred figure in ancient Egypt, is as rich in anecdote as it is in observation. Kummer first encountered the hamadryas baboon in the Zurich zoo during the 1950s while he was still a graduate student. It was fascination at first sight, and Kummer eventually traveled to Africa to conduct pioneering field studies of this unique creature. The hamadryas baboon occupies a precarious niche in the sparse ecosystem of the desert and has evolved a complex and aggressive patriarchal society involving elaborate social tactics and long-term sexual relationships. Kummer brings the hamadryas baboon so vividly to life it's easy to see why the Egyptians believed that this extremely intelligent fellow primate was the incarnation of Thoth, the god of science and writing.

Donna Seaman

"From the arresting first page of the preface, which takes the reader straight into the bush, to the moving final paragraph that will resonate with long-term field workers, it is compelling. . . . The thoughtful, personal disclosures are uncommonly telling and deserve wide attention."—-W. C. McGrew, Nature

"A book that encompasses the full body of a remarkable research project. [This] is an extremely satisfying book to read and will appeal to all. It is scientifically valuable, emotionally powerful, and spiritually rejuvenating."—-Conrad Brain, New Scientist

From the Publisher

"This is a book for everyone. The author describes vividly the burning sands and rugged cliffs of Ethiopia, and the fierce wild people who make their home in the unrelenting desert. There is danger and excitement. And there are the hardy and utterly fascinating baboons, with their red faces and silver mantles, the sacred Hamadryas of ancient Egypt. Kummer's scientific talent for observation, his love for his subjects and his magnificent prose make this a powerful and unforgettable book. For the sake of the Hamadryas baboons, please buy it!"

Jane Goodall