318:.) Later commentators, however, have come to emphasize the broader implications of Ardrey's theories; it is now commonly accepted that the controversy obscured the core of his thinking. William Wright, for example, writing in 2013, writes "Not only was Ardrey, with his three-million-year-old unsolved murders, claiming that evolution has saddled us with a battery of behavioral traits, but he was also reckless enough to emphasize the most repugnant, the killer impulse. This inflammatory claim certainly won Ardrey attention, but the angry controversy it provoked almost obscured the main point: that human behavior is as much a product of evolution as the human body."
129:. It posited the hypothesis that man evolved on the African continent from carnivorous, predatory ancestors who distinguished themselves from apes by the use of weapons. The work bears on questions of human origins, human nature, and human uniqueness. Although some of his ideas were refuted by later science, it was widely read and continues to inspire significant controversy.
27:
321:
While Ardrey's theses on aggression were controversial, he was also challenged on his conviction that the study of animal behavior is necessarily relevant to the study of human behavior. This precept has gained widespread acceptance and, due in large part to Ardrey's work, passed into the scientific
241:
Ardrey agreed to write a book on the subject. Oakley secured an office for Ardrey in the
National History Museum in London, as well as access to its private libraries. Ardrey spent six years traveling between Northern universities and African archeological sites. During this time he worked with many
381:
led Ardrey into a long career of work in anthropology and ethology. Regarding his later-in-life return to science, Ardrey wrote "while peasant and poet may apprehend a truth, it is the obligation of science to define it, to prove it, to assimilate its substance into the body of scientific thought,
209:
was the ape-man's instinct for violence, and his successful development of lethal weapons, that gave him his dominance in the animal world from the very beginning. Those instincts are with us today." Ardrey was initially much taken by the theory. As a correspondent he wrote an article about it for
208:
which had been fractured and lost its incisors; and 7,000 fossil bones from the
Makapansgat cave. Among the fossils, skulls and lower leg bones were disproportionately represented, leading Dart to theorize that man's ancestors were hunters who used bones as weapons. His overall thesis was that "it
781:
magazine: "Both of these books enjoyed, along with the scientific uproar they created, a wide general readership, and Ardrey ... today can claim major credit for having introduced the public to the new field of ethology, the study of animal behavior and its relationship to man." Graves, Ralph. "A
400:
has, in all probability, been read by more people throughout the world than any other book on human evolution and the nature of man. Its influence has been very great indeed as it fermented an intense debate about these topics, and catalysed a new set of concepts in
297:
it was generally agreed that human beings evolved from Asian ancestors. Furthermore, it was taken for granted that these ancestors were herbivorous. The idea of an
African Genesis of humanity was met with fervent resistance in the scientific community.
374:
in 1971. Along with ethology's ascendence came a renaissance of its central premise—then much derided in scientific communities by blank-state theorists—that the study of animal behavior could tell us much about human behavior.
589:
686:
1970. pp. 55-7. Print.: "His first book about the evolution of man, 'African
Genesis', took five years of travel and research, during which he earned nothing. Hollywood financed it. He finds that a nice
301:
On a grander scale, Ardrey challenged the reigning methodological assumption of the social sciences, that human behavior was fundamentally distinct from animal behavior. As he put it in his next book,
959:
764:: "Ardrey's ... writings opened the fields of paleoanthropology, ethnology, and anthropology to a wide readership." Schrire, Carmel "Ardrey, Robert (1908-1980)" in Spencer, Frank (ed.)
265:. He added to it his own ideas about the role of territory in human behavior, about hierarchy in social animals, and about the instinctual status of the urge to dominate one's fellows.
637:
Ardrey, Robert; Ardrey, Daniel (ed.). "The
Education of Robert Ardrey: An Autobiography" (unpublished manuscript ca. 1980, available through Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center)
276:
met with massive popular success and widespread recognition. It became an international bestseller and was translated into dozens of languages. In 1962 it was a finalist for the
803:(1960), Robert Ardrey introduced to the world at large the hypothesis that hunting and a murderous life-style played the leading role in the origin of human nature."
389:
are widely credited with initiating public interest in these fields and sparking widespread popular debate about human nature as it is connected to human evolution.
312:
Ardrey's theories became mired in controversy because of his notions about innate human violence and inherited instinctual aggression. (For more details, see
735:
Ardrey, Robert. "The
Territorial Imperative: A Personal Inquiry into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations." New York: Atheneum. 1966. Print.
969:
305:, "The dog barking at you from behind his master's fence acts for a motive indistinguishable from that of his master when the fence was built."
423:
588:
Pickering, TR (2012). "24: African
Genesis revisited: reflections on Raymond Dart and the 'predatory transition from ape(-man) to man.'".
518:, states in an interview that a quote from African Genesis was the most profound thing he read while reading the Encyclopædia.
933:
293:
The theories of Dart and Ardrey flew in the face of prevailing theories of human origins. At the time of the publication of
960:"The Dawn of Humanity - Newly Discovered Homo Naledi Video Review - Accessible Science on the Rising Star Paleolithic Site"
290:
the most notable nonfiction book of the 1960s. The book has continued to bear on the popular imagination of human nature.
261:
Ardrey eventually came to be a vocal proponent of this thesis, introducing it, in modified form, to a broad audience with
420:
549:
196:, had assembled evidence for a controversial thesis. Among the collection were fossil baboon skulls from the caves of
599:
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His writings on paleoanthropology, ethnology, and anthropology, along with the massive popular success of
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and to make its conclusions both available and understandable to the society of which science is a part."
710:
462:). Kubrick was a notable fan of Ardrey's work, and also cited him as an inspiration for his 1968 film,
314:
185:
143:
104:
814:
721:
514:
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231:
210:
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Kubrick, Stanley. Letter from
Stanley Kubrick to The New York Times. "Now Kubrick Fights Back."
651:
1108:
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155:
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as one of the two most formative books of his early years. In the 2015 PBS film documentary
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has since been "proven false", since violent apes such as these have now been shown to be "
176:
137:
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8:
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Robert Ardrey, at the time a working playwright and screenwriter, travelled in 1955 to
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African
Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man.
20:
African
Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man
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African Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man
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contacting Dart and eventually providing him funding to continue his research.
217:
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344:
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126:
37:
669:
Brain, C.K. 1981. "Robert Ardrey and the 'Killer-Apes'" in Brain, C.K. 1983
617:
Brain, C.K. 1983. "Robert Ardrey and the 'Killer-Apes'" in Brain, C.K. 1983
330:, which is based on the methodological assumption of the cross-relevance of
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468:. Nonetheless, the behavior of the apes in the "Dawn of Man" sequence of
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200:, Sterkfontein and Makapan that he believed showed fractures caused by
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The Hunters of the Hunted: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy.
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The Hunters of the Hunted: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy.
367:
215:. After receiving significant attention the article was reprinted in
1054:
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which marked the beginning of the spread of popular notions about
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27 February 1972, section 2, pp. 1 & 11. Print. Retrievable
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Also e.g. the editor's note attached to his fifth appearance in
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1008:
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E.g. see Carmel Shrire's entry on Ardrey in the Encyclopedia
251:
197:
1074:
The Nature of Man Series at the Robert Ardrey Estate Website
872:"Strange Odyssey: From Dart to Ardrey to Kubrick and Clarke"
888:
594:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 487–505.
863:
682:
Lewis, Peter "The Author who Stands out from the Crowd."
480:
K. Kris Hirst in reviewing the 2015 PBS documentary film
815:"Human Origins: One Man's Search for the Causes in Time"
204:
wielding bone clubs; the jaw of a juvenile ape-man from
163:
actress and illustrator Berdine Ardrey (née Grunewald).
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in particular, with launching them into their studies.
915:
Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001, a Space Odyssey
869:
192:
He met Dart in March 1955. Dart, in his laboratory at
437:
Potts recites the beginning of the book from memory.
125:, is a 1961 nonfiction work by the American writer
911:
900:
591:African Genesis: Perspectives on Hominin Evolution
650:Townsley, Graham (Director) (10 September 2015).
159:(1976). It was illustrated by Ardrey's wife, the
1080:
795:Also e.g. Potts, Rick, quoted in Clark, Mary E.
768:Taylor & Francis. Jan 1 1997. p. 100. Print.
698:Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist.
322:commonsense. Following the 1961 publication of
254:) and Tony Sutcliffe (then affiliated with the
906:
486:, which describes, directly in the context of
782:'Scientific Amateur' Expands his Territory."
743:
741:
725:Friday, Dec. 26, 1969. List accessible online
645:
643:
550:Kindle Edition Description via Amazon Website
405:Several scientists credit Ardrey's work, and
870:Richard D. Erlich; et al. (1997–2005).
813:Selig, Ruth Osterweis (Spring–Summer 1999).
749:Born That Way: Genes, Behavior, Personality.
665:
663:
338:, underwent a massive flourishing. 1966 saw
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799:New York: Routledge. 2005. 103. Print: "In
766:History of Physical Anthropology, Volume 1.
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640:
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25:
1069:The Official Robert Ardrey Estate Website
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1004:from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa"
624:
581:
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613:
611:
543:
454:cited Ardrey. In particular, he quoted
194:Witwatersrand University Medical School
1081:
990:
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673:Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
16:1961 nonfiction work by Robert Ardrey
621:Chicago: University of Chicago Press
608:
532:
530:
561:Rensberger, Boyce (April 8, 1984).
416:, who has been the director of the
13:
729:
14:
1120:
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751:New York: Routledge. 2013. Print.
527:
762:History of Physical Anthropology
540:New York: Atheneum. 1961. Print.
179:, to investigate claims made by
135:is the first in Robert Ardrey's
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1016:(published 10 September 2015).
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256:Royal Archaeological Institute
242:notable scientists, including
47:Berdine Ardrey (née Grunewald)
1:
1000:, a new species of the genus
521:
308:Following the publication of
166:
844:- 2015 PBS documentary film
786:11 September 1970: 1. Print.
709:Via the National Book Award
440:In 1972, defending his film
7:
700:2014. New York: Ecco. Print
512:, about reading the entire
421:Museum of Natural History's
10:
1125:
797:In Search of Human Nature.
506:, who wrote the 2004 book
315:The Territorial Imperative
303:The Territorial Imperative
246:(then affiliated with the
186:Australopithecus africanus
175:, partly at the behest of
144:The Territorial Imperative
105:The Territorial Imperative
821:. Smithsonian Institution
656:(Documentary). Nova, PBS.
563:"What Made Humans Human?"
268:
119:, usually referred to as
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59:
51:
43:
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24:
1055:Q&A: The Know-It-All
393:, for example, writes:
958:Hirst, K. Kris (2015).
515:Encyclopædia Britannica
476:" instead—according to
418:Smithsonian Institution
366:in 1969, and Tiger and
348:published, followed by
280:in nonfiction. In 1969
232:Smithsonian Institution
1104:1961 non-fiction books
1089:Books by Robert Ardrey
994:; et al. (2015).
490:, the 2015 studies of
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156:The Hunting Hypothesis
972:on September 30, 2015
465:2001: A Space Odyssey
426:since 1985 points to
424:Human Origins Program
395:
239:Dr. Kenneth P. Oakley
237:Following a visit by
1094:Nature of Man Series
183:about a specimen of
177:Richard Foster Flint
141:. It is followed by
138:Nature of Man Series
64:Nature of Man Series
1023:10.7554/eLife.09560
855:The New York Times,
460:The Social Contract
411:Paleoanthropologist
372:The Imperial Animal
278:National Book Award
150:The Social Contract
21:
926:Carroll & Graf
696:Dawkins, Richard.
567:The New York Times
443:A Clockwork Orange
401:paleoanthropology.
19:
935:978-0-7867-1073-7
747:Wright, William.
448:Fred M. Hechinger
224:Australopithecus.
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230:also led to The
202:Australopithecus
100:Followed by
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509:The Know-It-All
456:African Genesis
452:Stanley Kubrick
428:African Genesis
407:African Genesis
398:African Genesis
379:African Genesis
326:the science of
324:African Genesis
310:African Genesis
295:African Genesis
288:African Genesis
286:magazine named
274:African Genesis
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263:African Genesis
248:Coryndon Museum
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122:African Genesis
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153:(1970), and
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1099:1960s books
998:Homo naledi
881:Film theory
819:Anthronotes
504:A.J. Jacobs
497:Homo naledi
474:vegetarians
206:Makapansgat
44:Illustrator
1083:Categories
940:(From the
569:. New York
522:References
414:Rick Potts
391:C.K. Brain
167:Background
94:0002110148
965:About.com
687:thought."
358:in 1967,
1042:26354291
942:Foreword
910:(2002).
883:course,
573:March 7,
328:ethology
147:(1966),
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492:fossils
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