Final answer:
New DNA tools have revolutionized primatology, allowing for deeper insights into the genetic relationships, evolution, and behavior of primates. This research enhances our understanding of human origins and communication abilities, despite the challenges posed by threats to primate populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
New research tools such as DNA tools, including population genetics and phylogeography, significantly benefit the study of primatology today. These tools have allowed anthropologists and biologists to gain more precise detail into genetic relationships and evolutionary history. Studies in primatology help researchers like van Schaik and others understand the origins of human intelligence, language abilities, tool use, and culture. Habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade, however, pose a threat to primates, underscoring the need for this critical research.
Breakthrough work, such as that with the gorilla Koko, has provided insight into the language abilities of nonhuman primates. Such research has shown how primates can communicate using symbols and respond to human speech, bridging the gap between human and nonhuman communication. Furthermore, studying the behavior and environment of primates, like chimpanzees, offers a window into the ancestral past of humans, and these studies have revealed important variations in behavior, tool-assisted hunting, and gender roles among primates in different habitats.