Carel van Schaik

Carel van Schaik, born in Rotterdam in 1953, is a behavioral scientist and evolutionary biologist. His research focused on the roots of human culture, cooperation, and intelligence in great apes, and he spent many years observing orangutans in the jungles of Indonesia. Van Schaik was a professor at Duke University in the United States and a professor of biological anthropology at the University of Zurich, where he also directed the Anthropological Institute and Museum. He was a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Max Planck Society. Together with Kai Michel, he wrote the books »The Diary of Mankind«, »The Truth About Eve«, and »Being Human«.