It is argued that the lives of our hunter-gatherer ancestors were “nasty, brutish and short”, but the observations made by Dr. Jane Goodall in Gombe illuminate the complexities of the hunter-gather lifestyle of chimpanzees that can be compared to those of our predecessors. In her ethnography, In the Shadow of Man, her decade-long observations detail the key patterns in which the chimpanzee’s social interactions and structures, along with their ability to problem solve show the many similarities between human societal characteristics and the chimpanzee’s. Reinforcing that chimpanzee communities function and evolve with many of the same eccentricities as man, therefore, it is contradicting to summarize the lives of chimpanzee’s as simply “nasty, brutish and short”. Dr. Goodall’s extensive documentation of the social structures amongst chimps is an important component in breaking down the complexities of their relationships as well as making it possible to start creating parallels to human social norms. One example of this can be seen in the chimpanzee Mike and his rise to power. When Goodall started her work, Mike was ranked at the bottom of the adult …show more content…
Goodall’s work, she observed chimpanzees in all stages of life. Chimpanzees can live up to fifty years in captivity and Dr. Goodall, observed Gombe chimpanzees in their forties (32). One of the oldest chimpanzees described by Dr. Goodall was “ Ancient Flo”, a prime example of a full, long chimpanzee life. Flo, who may have looked old and frail was one of the most aggressive and dominate female in the troop (80). When Dr. Goodall first met old Flo she was already mother to three, and upon her return from Cambridge Flo had a seven-week-old infant (101). Flo’s fertility, motherhood and dominant presence are examples that dispute the chimpanzee life as “short”. Like humans, the chimpanzee lifespan is varying, in which parenthood, illness, and conflict accrues and to presume it as “short” is