LIVING LINKS CENTER FOR STUDY OF APE & HUMAN EVOLUTION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The Living Links Center is a research and educational center for the study of ape and human evolution, using behavioral, cognitive, anatomic, and molecular approaches. The LLC was formed in 1997 in response to three developments. The first was the intellectual convergence of the fields of evolutionary psychology, comparative cognition, and field primatology around the importance of using extant species to understand extinct hominid ancestors. Second, technical developments in brain imaging and genomic sequencing provided new non-invasive approaches to study similarities and differences between great apes and humans. The Yerkes ape colony had not been utilized effectively for comparative behavioral studies. The LLC was formed to utilize this colony in non-invasive comparative research and to provide a base for philanthropic fund raising for both scientific and colony support. The LLC was launched in September, 1997 with joint support from the Office of the Provost and the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. Dr. F. de Waal is LLC Director. Major activities over the past years have been 1) organization of a hugely successful symposium on human origins that drew nearly 2000 people from Emory and beyond, and 2) an international conference with the Chicago Academy of Sciences. We are currently exploring a joint operation with St. Andrews University in Scotland where a center with the same name is being opened at the Edinburgh Zoo.