More proof of my pet theory: Humans are the selfish, unruly, and destructive descendants of prehistoric primates. Due to bad behavior, our ancestors were outcast from the tree tops by their socially cohesive arboreal relatives. And just as many of us now look to up to the sky in supplication, so did our ancestors as they relied on the largess of their tree dwelling benefactors for food until the point at which they could adapt their diets to terrestrial food sources.

We are the mongrel result of a primate penal colony.

Yes, this just a fun joke. Don't blame me if you start seeing evidence for it in every primate study you see from now on.

We are more likely descended from chimpanzees who are cannibalistic and primate eating carnivores. We out-evolved other hominids by killing them or eating them.

There is a HUGE advantage of integrating into a successful group, but it comes at an evolutionary cost. For most of us that cost is being fundamentally altered such that we are predisposed to help the group and the individuals it contains, not only without being asked, but even without thinking about it. Apparently, the same evolutionary forces have been at work on the bonobos. Most of us have been so altered by the evolutionary process that it is abnormal to not feel good to help one another. These feelings go well beyond even our own species. Most of us feel good when we protect our pets and even wild animals and plants. I saw a video of divers removing an entangled fishing net that was slowly cutting into a whale's flesh and it was absolutely wonderful to see the whale freed from the net by divers who were actually risking their lives. We should embrace this part of our nature as real and necessary and even ennobling. It may be critical to facing the challenges ahead.

The evolutionary effects of group living also neatly explain religion. Speaking about the religion I know best, Christianity, if you are within the group, you are nominally a brother or sister to be treated with kindness and respect. If you are outside the group, Christianity is flexible enough to allow you in if you are willing. If you challenge the group, you are going to be confronted by a united group who believes the group must be preserved at all costs. All cultures seem to have a religion of one sort or another, and you can see that flexible religion like Christianity is extremely useful for promoting interest of the group above others.

'unrelated adults'. Unless these adults are from another planet, this isn't likely.

Your article on bonobos refers to them as 'apes' awfully frequently, given how little your articles on humans do.