Menu Close

Articles on Apes

Displaying all articles

Artist’s impression of a group of Gigantopithecus blacki in a forest in southern China. Garcia/Joannes-Boyau (Southern Cross University)

Giant ‘kings of apes’ once roamed southern China. We solved the mystery of their extinction

What happened to the three-metre tall apes that once lived alongside orangutans? A new study suggests they were too slow to adapt to a changing world.
An ape that lived 21 million years ago was used to a habitat that was both grassy and wooded. Corbin Rainbolt

Wooded grasslands flourished in Africa 21 million years ago – new research forces a rethink of ape evolution

Contrary to the idea that apes evolved their upright posture to reach for fruit in the forest canopy, the earliest known ape with this stature, Morotopithecus, lived in more open grassy environments.
Detail from Brett Whiteley. Sacred baboon 1975 brush and ink, wood stain, watercolour, gouache and cut printed colour illustration on cardboard 81.6 x 67.6 cm National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased, 1978 (A23-1978) © Wendy Whiteley

An ape in anguish: Brett Whiteley’s Sacred baboon

Throughout his life, Brett Whiteley made images of apes and monkeys. He found much in their character and physiognomy to identify with.
The climax of popular simianisation was the hugely successful classic of Hollywood’s horror factory, King Kong. Shutterstock

Comparing black people to monkeys has a long, dark simian history

Animalisation remains a malicious and effective form of dehumanisation. Simianisation is a version of this strategy, which historically manifested a lethal combination of sexism and racism.

Top contributors

More