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As an anthropologist, I’ve read a few ethnographies. \u00a0They are generally fairly dry and academic. I’ve also read a few ethologies of primate behavior, which tend to be much more entertaining. \u00a0I recently\u00a0finished a book that manages to successfully blend both ethnography and ethology:\u00a0<\/span>Primates of Park Avenue<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/b><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>by Wednesday Martin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Martin does an excellent job of incorporating the data\u00a0gleaned from\u00a0participant-observation (she moved into the habitat of Park Avenue East and interacted on a daily basis with the\u00a0women there) with the behavioral insights informed\u00a0<\/span>from\u00a0research done \u00a0by primatologists on the other great apes (humans are a type of great ape) and monkeys. \u00a0Her scientific study of New York City women in\u00a0the 0.1% shows that even the wealthiest women living in one of the wealthiest cities in the world are really not far-removed from our primate cousins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Primates of Park Avenue<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/em>is an enjoyable, fast read that demonstrates how an anthropologist with an interest in primatology views her fellow humans. \u00a0Frankly, there is a little chimp\/bonobo in all of us.<\/span><\/p>\n

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