General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Where have societies' views of women come from? [View all]RainDog
(28,784 posts)Bonobos and common chimpanzees are two species of chimpanzee - and share more DNA with one another than with humans.
The split went like this: about 10 million years ago gorillas speciated.
About five million years ago humans and chimpanzees speciated.
Then, because they had geographic barriers between them, common and bonobo chimps speciated.
We share more in common with bonobos in terms of our actions because they and humans are the only two primates that have sex when females are not in estrus. They also have sex face-to-face, as do we.
There are all kinds of behaviors in all kinds of animals that are available but not expressed - and the two species of chimpanzees are good examples of this.
I think, tho, for me, the idea is that our anatomy has not been destiny, regarding what how we live. We alter our environments all the time and those changes, rather than our genetic composition, beyond certain basic issues, have made our cultures.