Jane Goodall has achieved and contributed greatly to the field of anthropology and primatology; she is considered to be one of the world’s most inspiring and dedicated naturalists. Additionally, Goodall has extensively and significantly contributed to society and the animal kingdom. Her work pioneered numerous primate research studies, and has influenced people to look at chimpanzees in a new light, so to speak. As a child, Goodall dreamt of travelling to Africa to observe and learn more about the exotic animals that live there. This dream stems from her fascination of observing wild animals in their natural habitats (The Biography.com Website, 2015). She was a curious young girl and continued to question the natural world around her as she …show more content…
grew. Her curiousness was one of the factors that directly affected her determination and dedication to conduct her research studies. Other factors that directly impacted her ability to carry through with her research were her patience, persistence, and tolerance. Jane Goodall was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible mission- successfully working with chimps for 50 years. Goodall always had a passion for wildlife and nature in general; thus, she was encouraged by her parents and peers to pursue a career in it. She graduated Uplands Private School in 1952 and at the age of 18, she had to leave school because she could not afford it. Instead of attending university, she found the opportunity to work as a secretary at Oxford University (The Biography.com Website, 2015). “In her spare time, she worked at a London-based documentary film company to finance a long-anticipated trip to Africa. At the invitation of a childhood friend, she visited South Kinangop, Kenya” (The Biography.com Website, 2015). Later, she was able to meet Louis Leakey through some connections. He was impressed by her knowledge of the natural world and decided to hire her as a secretary. Leakey opened many doors for Goodall, and inevitably launched her career, by providing her with the opportunity to participate in a “fossil-hunting expedition in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania” (Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, 2015) and “by sending her to study the vervet monkey, which lives on an island in Lake Victoria” (The Biography.com Website, 2015). But most importantly, Leakey gave Goodall the opportunity to work in Tanzania on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Gombe Stream Reserve to study chimpanzees. Leakey believed that in order to gather more information on the evolution of humans a study on the behaviour of higher primates, specifically chimpanzees, must be conducted (The Biography.com Website, 2015). Leakey had faith that Goodall would be able to conduct this research study, so he encouraged and persuaded her to take on such an expedition. Although, many other scientists were against Leakey’s decision because they believed that Goodall had no official education or knowledge to take on such a task. Goodall used this negativity as a motivator to prove to everyone who was against her that they were wrong. Jane Goodall was able to gather some remarkable research information and although she made it seem easy, it was not. Gathering all that information took time, persistence, patience, and some extreme dedication. When she started the research study, she encountered many difficulties, the main one being that the chimpanzees would flee from her sight in fear of harm. Although, it would take a lot more that than to discourage Jane Goodall, she took on the advice of her mentor, Louis Leakey, and established a calm, peaceful, and non-threatening environment. She maintained “a non-threatening pattern of observation by appearing at the same time every morning and staying at a reasonable distance” (The Biography.com Website, 2015). After a couple attempts, Goodall finally managed to establish a “peace bond” with the chimpanzees, meaning that she gained their trust. This in itself was a major breakthrough and accomplishment for Goodall. Within two years, the chimpanzees displayed no sign of fear to her and would come right up close to Goodall. Respectively, Goodall imitated the chimpanzees to gather information in the most reliable and valid way possible- she wanted nothing more than to observe the chimpanzee’s natural behaviour. Her only mistake and regret was opening what she called the ‘banana club’, this was “a daily systematic feeding method she used to gain trust and to obtain a more thorough understanding of everyday chimpanzee behavior” (The Biography.com Website, 2015). Goodall has been criticized for doing so by other anthropologists and scientists because, in a way, it can be considered a form of conditioning. “Conditioning is a process of behaviour modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behaviour with a previously unrelated stimulus” (The Free Dictionary, 2015). In this case the bananas, which would be the unrelated stimulus, influenced the chimps to come in contact with Goodall, which would be the behaviour modification. But, she managed to get through all the criticism and the negativity by proving them wrong with making such ground breaking discoveries, earning a Ph.D. in ethology without a university degree ( a rare accomplishment), and with protecting the chimpanzees from extinction. “Anthropologists study humanity through their cultures – past and present, and is comprised of four main areas: linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and biological/ physical anthropology” (A1 Content, 2015).
Jane Goodall made major scientific discoveries in the fields of linguistic anthropology, which is the “study of language and communication similarities and variations” (A1 Content, 2015), and biological/ physical anthropology, which is the study of evolution, genetic variation, inheritance, and adaptability” (A1 Content, 2015). Her contributions to primatology, which is a branch of zoology dealing with primates (Dictionary.com, 2015), and ethology, which is the study of animal behaviour with emphasis on the behavioral patterns that occur in natural environments (Dictionary.com, 2015), have revolutionized the scientific world today. Throughout her study, Jane Goodall was able to discover that chimpanzees have their own ritualized behaviours and communication methods, which contains more than 20 individual sounds (Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, 2015). In the process of gathering information on the chimps, Jane Goodall was able to pick up on some of these sounds and was actually able to communicate with the chimps. Furthermore, she recognized the fact that chimpanzees are not vegetarian and do eat meat. “She observed acts of cannibalism and the hunting of large insects, birds, baby baboons, and bushbacks (small antelopes) to prove this fact” (Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, 2015). This was an important discovery, since before that it was recorded that chimps were entirely vegetarian. Also, she discovered that the chimpanzees were able to make and use tools to capture food and protect themselves. “She observed the chimpanzees using blades of grass as spoons and stones as weapons” (Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, 2015). This too was an important discovery since, until that point, it was believed that only humans were intelligent
enough to create and use tools. This discovery brought to light the fact that chimps are an intelligent species like humans. Furthermore, Goodall discovered that the chimps have established a cast system, placing the strongest males and their female mates on top and the weaker males and female mates at the bottom (Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, 2015). The connection between all these findings is that she was able to prove and display that chimpanzees are indeed very similar to humans, thus providing an insight on the evolution of humans. These observations amazed the world when Jane Goodall first introduced them and still continue to do so today. Jane Goodall has received numerous honors and awards for her successful research and founded a non-profit organization entitled the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation to help conduct further research studies and protect the chimpanzees from becoming an extinct species. Additionally, Goodall established a program entitled Roots & Shoots in 1991 to educate children on issues relating to the environment and to educate children on conservation. Goodall has laid down the foundation for further primate research studies and has become famous for her lectures, books, articles, and organizations. She truly is an inspirational role model; she faced a lot of criticism and hardships but still managed to reach the final outcome of success. Jane Goodall devoted her entire life to studying and protecting the chimpanzees.
Next of Kin tells the story of a man’s life and how it was forever changed once he was asked to become an assistant for a research project with chimpanzees. The story spans over several decades of work. It is very emotional and telling. The book allows the reader to have an intimate understanding of how the research was conducted, as well as how the world had viewed and treated chimpanzees at the time which Fouts was involved in the Washoe project.
Dr. Goodall is a well-known British primatologist who has discovered a substantial amount about primates in her many years of research. She has written numerous books, including one that we will be going into depth about called, “Through a Window.” Her book contains personal experiences, research findings, and even pictures to help the readers visualize her scientific breaking moments from her thirty years with the chimpanzees of Gombe. She states that there is are minor differences, and several similarities between humans and the chimpanzees. We will discuss these differences and similarities through their social behavior, intellectual ability, and emotions. To conclude, examine Goodall’s research to adopt what her findings can tell us about our early ancestors, and whether or not her study coincided to the steps of scientific methodology.
Nicole Starosielski describes animation as having “the potential to depict imperceptible, indeterminate and interactive environments.” That is what made this animation so brilliant. Truthfully I have always been very fascinated by Jane Goodall and her work, but there isn’t a way, other than animation, to put the feel of what she was going through on the screen.
No matter who you are, you are afraid of something. On the other hand, you also have things that you love and are even awestruck by its presence. Goodall describes her encounter with the bushbuck as an amazing sight while her encounter with the leopard was full of fear.
In Jane Goodall’s “In the Forests of Gombe,” she travels to the beautiful forests of Gombe to explore chimpanzee. She watches over the chimpanzees that she has been observing for over twenty years. She also travels to Gombe to get away from the sad associations that reminded her about the death of her husband, Derek. During her trip, she experiences an epiphany when she is stuck under a tree in the forest. The epiphany confirmed her view on whether religion and science can coexist. There are two concepts of “windows in Jane Goodall’s “In the Forests of Gombe.” One of which is the scientific window. The scientific window views the world in a very logical and natural way. The other window is the religious window. The religious window views the
In a search to find our ancestors, several anthropologists have found evidence to support their conclusions. In the films about Don Johanson's discovery of Lucy in Hadar, one may be very intrigued by the first film but very disturbed by the second film.
Human are the most clever animals in the world. As the society developed, they are more concerned to seek for a harmony relationship with nature. The article “In the Forests of the Gombe” written by Jane Goodall describes the relationship of science and religious and the new understanding of humans through the forest. After Goodall’s husband died, she went through the Gombe jungle and found the new world by observing chimpanzees and staying in the quiet forest. Even though there are no communication between Goodall and chimpanzees in the forest, she still gets inner peace and enlightenment of science and religious.
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
Did Jane Goodall’s research find the evidence about chimp’s tool making? Is the human the only species able to make the tool? How do you correlate this with human culture?
Can one person, one person out of the billions of people on this magnificent planet, really make a difference? There are over seven billion people living on Earth, each with a separate and unique purpose. Jane Goodall, one person out of the seven billion, knew her purpose from a young age, and dedicated her life to accomplishing it. In Reason for Hope, Goodall unearths the connection and compatibility between faith and knowledge, and shares her project with her readers. Jane Goodall was a visionary, and had a project so immense that it must be broken down into three subprojects: the effect of chimps on chimps in Gombe, the relationship between chimps and humans throughout her time in the scientific world, and the human on human connection in our past, present, and future.
The Animal Kingdom is a modern exhibit designed to follow the “natural pattern” of an African community. The most eye-popping attraction, the Kilamanjaro Safari, is an open-air, nearly barrier-free animal reserve at Florida’s Walt Disney World. It was a major shift from a cow playground to a zone of care for other wise caged animals. Here, African animals freely roam through acres of savanna, rivers, and rocky hills. The rider is advised to be aware, “You never know what could happen in the wilderness” (Tate 1).
Anthropological researchers have considerable moral and ethical standards by which their work must be conducted in order to preserve the accuracy and the posterity of the information gathered during the study and also to the persons or cultures of which they study. These two important parts of anthropology – the research and those being researched – can be conflicting. The Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association presents itself as a body of guidelines for discussing these ethical and moral conflicts. This allows for researchers in the field of anthropology to have a foundation for understanding what decisions must be made regarding these ethical and moral conflicts and to whom the disclosures of those decisions should be made.
also films that could have been seen for a small price, but if one has the time
Goodall, Jane. 1990. Through a Window: My 30 Years with Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company
Franz Boas has been considered by many as the "Father of American Anthropology", as he was a pioneer in breaking down the American isolationism, intolerance and misinformation about and biological diversity and linguistics.