Why I am a Primate Through out time, primates have been observed to display similar tendencies.

Physically, characteristics shared by primates can range from similar skeletal and dental structures, enhanced touch and vision qualities to reduced snouts. Social and behavioral qualities shared by primates include parental involvement, learned behaviors, social tendencies, residential patterns and reproductive strategies. In this essay, I will separate the physical characteristics from the social and behavioral qualities in effort to more thoroughly explain why I am a primate. Physical Characteristics Primates tend to have a generalized skeletal structure which contain separate bones and joints that allow flexibility. Like many other primates, I have a collarbone that aligns my upper limbs along the side of my body. Additionally, Apes and humans both have opposable thumbs that can reach the tips of all fingers on each hand and in turn, allows the hands to grasp objects. I, likewise to apes, can use one or both hands to pick things up. Primates have the ability to experience an enhanced sense of touch through their fingers and toe prints which have derived ridges and serve many functions. The derived ridges increase friction which decreases the chance of an object slipping from ones grasp. The ridges on my fingers and toes allow me to feel different temperatures and textures. My nails are made out of a hard durable substance called keratin. Keratin primarily protects a primates fingers and toes but is also helpful when picking up small objects. Primates encompass the capability of enhanced vision through frontward facing eyes that allow their visual fields to overlap. This creates depth perception and allows them to distinguish how close or far away an object is. Additionally, primates are able to see in color. This

characteristic evolved when primates shifted from being nocturnal to becoming diurnal. These characteristics allow me to tell how distant an object is from me and enables me to see in color. As time progressed, primates began to depend on their other evolved attributes more and relied less on their sense of smell. Consequently, a primates decreased dependence on their sense of smell has resulted in a smaller snout. My nose permits me to detect different smells however, it is not a sense that I highly rely on. Primates have a diverse diet that is facilitated through their dental structure. Along with other primates, I have 32 teeth. When compared to mammals, this is a reduced amount of teeth. Through out the ages, primates like me have managed to retained specific tooth types including incisors, canines, premolars and molars. Social and Behavioral Qualities When compared to mammals, primates typically give birth to fewer offspring. Primates characteristically invest a lot of time and energy when caring for their children. Parents not only provide their children with food, but also teach their children different types of learned behaviors along with the social roles of their culture. Periods of long growth and development allow for these values and characteristics to be taught to the children as they mature. In proportion to their bodies, primates contain large brains which not only take time to develop, but enables them to process complex thoughts. As a result, nurturing increases the overall chances for the survival of the offspring. Similar to other primates, my parents spent many years nurturing and teaching me how to become a socially adapted adult. Primates have many common social characteristics such as participating in touching, hugging, vocalizing, greeting and grooming each other. Typically, chimps that groom each other will travel and compete together. I, similarly to my fellow primates, engage in many of these

social characteristics with my friends and family. Furthermore, primates advocate a structured society where different participants assume different roles. I live in a society where many leaders assume different responsibilities such as officers, teachers, parents, students, brothers and sisters. Primates have demonstrated several different residential patterns through out time. The most common pattern is monogamous where one male resides with one female. Another common residential pattern is solitary where the primate simply lives alone. Other residential patterns such as polygynous, polyandrous, all male or many males combined with many females living together are less common among humans yet still exist. I have chosen to live in a monogamous residential pattern entailing one male and one female living together in a home. Primates have a tendency to display reproductive strategies where males compete for females and females compete for food to feed their young children. As is common in the primate social structure, older children are ranked higher then younger children. In my family, the oldest child was often responsible for looking after the younger siblings. When my parents were not around, the oldest was automatically in charge. Both my father and mother worked full time to provide for the family. However, it my mother who was also responsible for attending to the familys needs and was assisted by my oldest sister. In conclusion, this is a simple assessment for one to make. The physical characteristics of a primate such as the skeletal and dental structures, touch and vision qualities and reduced snouts all pertain to me. The primate social and behavioral qualities such as parenting methods, behaviors and tendencies, reproductive and residence patterns also all pertain to me. As a result, it is consistent with the evidence that I am in fact a primate.