The Evolution of Thought Evolutionary Origins of Great Ape Intelligence Research on the evolution of higher intelligence rarely com- bines data from fields as diverse as paleontology and psychol- ogy. In this volume we seek to do just that, synthesizing the approaches of hominoid cognition, psychology, language stud- ies, ecology, evolution, paleoecology, and systematics towards an understanding of great ape intelligence. Leading scholars from all these fields have been asked to evaluate the manner in which each of their topics of research informs our understanding of the evolution of intelligence in great apes and humans. The ideas thus assembled represent the most comprehensive survey to date of the various causes and consequences of cognitive evo- lution in great apes. The Evolution of Thought will therefore be an essential reference for graduate students and researchers in evolutionary psychology, paleoanthropology, and primatology. A nne E. R usson is a professor of psychology at Glendon College of York University in Toronto. Since 1989 she has been studying intelligence and learning in ex-captive orangutans released to free forest life in central and eastern Indonesian Borneo. David R. B egun is a professor of anthropology at the Univer- sity of Toronto. He is a leading researcher in Miocene hominoid paleobiology. His current research interests center on the bio- geography of great ape and human origins and the relations between Miocene hominoids and the earliest humans. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521783356 - The Evolution of Thought: Evolutionary Origins of Great Ape Intelligence Edited by Anne E. Russon and David R. Begun Frontmatter More information