Are the learning processes involved in the social inheritance of animals the same or different from those involved in the cultural transmission of humans? Having witnessed inconclusive debates between biologists who regard animal culture as obvious and social anthropologists who regard it as absurd, I found this collection of essays fascinating. This thoughtful book has lifted the debate onto a level where it might be possible to answer the question of whether or not the antecedents of human culture can be found in other animals.
   --Sir Patrick Bateson, University of Cambridge

Laland and Galef have assembled some of the best minds in the business to review the evidence for socially transmitted behaviors in animals and to consider the extent to which creatures such as chimpanzees, orangutans, and whales can be said to have "culture." Opinions vary widely, but each chapter is characterized by rigorous assessment of available evidence, providing the most thoughtful and comprehensive assessment to date concerning the question of animal culture. In particular, the book marks a watershed opening up a much-needed dialogue between cognitive psychologists and animal behaviorists on the one hand, and cultural anthropologists on the other about the special role culture played in the evolution of human animals.
   --Sarah B. Hrdy, author of Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants and Natural Selection

Reading this book is like sitting ringside, watching the authors duke it out over the nature and uniqueness of our cultural prowess.
   --Marc D. Hauser, author of Moral Minds

author photos: Kevin N. Laland (top), and Bennett G. Galef (below)

Kevin N. Laland is Professor, School of Biology, St. Andrews University.

Bennett G. Galef is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, McMaster University, and past editor of Animal Behaviour.