摘要：
The use of referent taxa, and especially chimpanzee referents, in
modeling human evolution has been harshly criticized. No doubt,
chimpanzee data are often misused in models of early hominid behavior.
But, those misuses are examples of careless, formal analogizing.
In contrast, it is equally possible to create non-trivial chimpanzee
analogies. These analogies can, in turn, be linked together to construct
credible models of human evolution, from which emanate hypotheses
that are testable using paleoanthropological data. Unique among
potential referents, chimpanzees are very closely related to early
hominids and some populations reside in ecological contexts that
are comparable to those of our African ancestors. It is these two
variables that form the core of evolutionary behavioral ecology.
We exploit chimpanzee and early hominid continuities and employ
non-trivial analogies to provide a model of basal hominid hunting.
The model is testable and the topic is worthy because hunting and
meat-eating are argued by some to be the basis of human sociality.
