Anthropology

    The Capuchins are a group of new world monkeys, their name is derived from their colour which is likened to the friars (clad in rich brown robes with huge hoods over their heads) they resemble. They are classified under genus Cebus.  Capuchins are largely diurnal and arboreal they spend most of their day foraging for food and only rest during a midday nap (Groves 2001). At night they sleep between branches. They are considered adaptive therefore can live anywhere and due to their high reproductive rate are minimally affected by deforestation. By 1994 they were considered endangered and between 1996 and 2004 they were classified as vulnerable (Fragaszy et al 2004). The capuchins could be mankind distant relatives, they have the largest brain to body ratio among all non human primates.

Size and coloring
The Capuchins are quite lean and very agile. They weigh between 1.4-4.9 kilograms (3-9 pounds) with a brain mass of 35-40 grams. The Capuchin coat is dark brown but varies from cream to light tan around the neck, shoulders and around the face, their faces range from pink to white with a black cap (capuche) on their heads. The Capuchins can reach the length of 12-22 inches (30-56 centimetres) (Perry, 2008).

Location
Research indicates that their exact range is not well known but mostly the tufted capuchins inhabit some Southern and Central America countries like Brazil, Latin America, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, French Guiana, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Trinidad, Paraguay and Suriname (Fragaszy et al. 2004). The C.a. Margaritae is a tufted capuchin found on the Margarita Island and is detached from the rest of the inhabitants (Groves 2001). It is assumed that this subspecies has inhabited the island since the pre-Columbian period, but its origin is still vague. The whole genus resides in almost all types of forests in the neotropics of southern America (Mittermeier et al 1981).

Diet
The capuchins are infamous for their diverse diet (Fragaszy 2004). Largely their diet consists of fruits, insects, flowers, bird eggs, small lizards, nestling squirrels, bird hatchings and plant materials they are omnivores. They at times supplement their diet with grasshoppers, ants and cicadas. For animals, they are extremely discriminatory when it comes to food they only consume ripe fruits hence they first check its viability before rendering it consumable. The Capuchins eat the flesh and juice of softer fruits and discard the skin. Capuchins living near waters eat crabs and shellfish by cracking open the shells with stones. Where humans live near the forests capuchins invade their crops and are troublesome.

A study conducted by Hladik et al. (1971) as cited by Fragaszy (2004) on C. capucinus reported that their diet consists of 36 minerals, 26.3 carbohydrates, 1.8fats, 14.4 proteins, and 7.6  cellulose. Capuchins living in the same group have different dietary needs in reference to individual, rank, age and sex (Fragaszy 2004). According Fragaszy individuals forage differently reflecting their preferences and assessment of risks involved together with individual foraging skills.

Morphology and Sex dimorphism
Their legs and arms are evenly proportional with finger and toes with nails. The capuchin nostrils are round and set far apart. There is a siginificanct variation of color seen in members of the same group though adult males have been noted to have a darker coat than the females (Emmos et al, 1999). The wild tufted capuchin male average about 3.6kgs while the females average about 2.6kgs. Sexual dimorphism is also evident in their dentition the male canines are larger than those of the females (Masterson, 1998)

Male capuchin pastime activities include wrestling games females spend most of their pastime grooming each other. Their social relations extend not only within the family but even to relatives and the entire group. Males emigrate to different social groups every four years if they outgrow the alpha male. The migration is accompanied by aggressive fights with resident males (Fragaszy et al 2004). Male Capuchins spends more time playing compared to the females (Perry et al 2008).

Social structure
The capuchin social groups vary from groups of 10- 30 or even more members. The number of females in each social group is greater than that of the males, majority of the members are infants and adolescents. Though there is a lead female and male in each group, there are no other telltales of hierarchy in their social structure. Leadership only changes if one of the younger males grows to be bigger than the alpha male and can challenge him. When foraging, the dominant males can show different degrees of tolerance among the different members of the grouping (Perry et al 2008).
The alpha male plays the major role of protecting the group from intruders and does not mingle much with the other members. Their natural predators include jaguars, birds of prey, snakes cats and humans. He also directs the group to where they should and shouldnt go. The dominant female forms a possessive kind of relationship with the male and keeps other females away from him.

The capuchins are highly productive, polygamous and promiscuous (Groves 2001). The lead male possesses the chief role of mating with all the females of the group. Females lure the male when they want to mate. To court a male a female Capuchin could raise her eyebrows, use gestures or make sounds to attract a male. An interested male will mimic the sounds and gestures of the female, follow her and eventually mate. Females in a group mate preferentially with the dominant male but other males get a chance when he is absent. Female Capuchins mature earlier than the males most can give their first birth at age four and bear one infant about every two years.

The gestation period of a capuchin monkey is between 150- 160 days (about 5 months). The females take care of their young ones alone as the males are not concerned with parenting. Infants cling to their mothers belly until they are large enough to ride on the back. Male capuchins mature at age eight. In the wild their life expectancy is between 15- 25 years though in captivity individuals have proved to live up to 45 years (Perry 2008).

During the mosquito season, Capuchins use millipedes as repellents by crashing them and rubbing the remnants on their backs (Emmos 1997). During the first few months infants are taken care of by the sisters but around the third month they seek the company of other infants in the group. Mutual grooming and vocalization serve as their main means of communication and stabilization of their groups. They are quite territorial and mark their territory with urine defending it from intruders (Loy 1991).

Study of Archaic hominids
Where did humans originate from Is a question that primatologists have tried to answer by studying non-human primates. Elucidation of how early homids survived and evolved is examined through ethnographic studies (animal studies especially the apes). Though it is not expected that ape models would paint an exact picture of the hominid life, field studies could be used to test some models. Constant solutions by majority of non-human primates to particular survival hardships, suggests a similarity in response in the hominid progression (Rosenberger 1990).

Geological findings indicate that millions of years ago, earth was inhabited by reptiles alongside small mammals but then the dinosaurs disappeared. Mammals were faced by fewer competitors thus an enormous group of mammals evolved (Rosenberger, 1990). Fossils indicate presence of five digits in each limb of the primates. There is evidence of how in primates the thumb developed into an opposable thumb (thumbs ability to bend and touch the forefinger). Through natural selection this opposable thumb helped primate adapt to arboreal life. Higher primates (humans) characteristics are related to the original arboreal life. Example is a baseball pitcher who uses the shoulder joint that first evolved for swinging from branch to branch. Primates opposable thumbs and strong fingers helped them to hold food, hang from branches and groom themselves. Other traits that evolved and are present in all primates are hind limbs for movement, stunted noses compared to other mammals, eyes positioned on the front of the face for a binocular vision, comparatively large brains, absolute maternal care and compact number of teeth (Perry et al, 2008).

    Capuchins have been used in ethnographic studies. Anthropologist Susan Perry and her group have studied the Capuchins for twenty years and experimented with them from childhood to maturity. In their studies they have noted some amazing similarities between the capuchins and humans (Perry et al, 2008). According to Perry some similarities reflect a common ancestor with the humans, an example kneading of nipples which is evident in mammals. Some of the similarities between the Capuchins and the humans have been indicated to include, ability to use tools, high social intelligence use of words for communication and sharing.

     Perry ethnographic research espouse the following characteristics similar to those of the hominids
Utilization of tools while foraging for food capuchins have developed the use of tools like stones to crack open hard nuts.

Membership she noted that capuchins share their food with familiar family or group members.
Use of words from childhood capuchins learn to use several calls. Most of them are alarm calls in case of predators. Other communicative behaviour includes kneading of nipples while suckling which seems to have a calming effect.

Day-care a capuchin infant will be handled and be taken care of by different group members. Non-maternal females will handle the baby for up to 9 of the time. Females fight to take care of infants.

Social cliques and alliances A research on 80 real Capuchin battles indicated that they not only choose their best friends but they also solicit for help from their closest individuals in case of a conflict, (Perry, 2008).

The convergent evolution theory explains how the capuchins are similar to humans, that is, humans and capuchins had a similar ancestor but somewhere along the line they diverged and each evolved independently. Schaik et al, (1999) explain this through the evolution of tools where in the primate tree the use of tools appears to have evolved at least three times, once  in apes, once in baboons and lastly in the Capuchins. Schaick argues that social tolerance is a requirement for socially acquired tool use. He observed that capuchin adults are quite tolerant of nosy and insubordinate youngsters. Though capable of violence capuchins will reconcile after conflicts. Youngsters spend most of their time alongside the adults as they observe how they work and learn from them. How they relate with humans was described in a recent study by Roseth et al, (2008, p38), an analysis on classroom kids revealed that they tend to learn better in a non-competitive, cooperative environment.

Insight
In the new world group, the Capuchins have the largest brains. This fact plus their versatility help them aid paralysed people. In 1979, an occupational therapist trained a capuchin monkey to accompany quadriplegics. Since there limbs are similarly fashioned as those of a human they are easily trained to perform simple tasks like opening and closing doors, brushing hair, serving food, moving light objects from one place to another and other simple tasks. Capuchins make wonderful companions with disabled people if raised with attention and love.