UC Davis

Large felid predators have posed significant threats to various primate lineages since Miocene times. In the case of leopards (Panthera pardus), natural selection has fostered the ability to recognize these cats in a number of nonhuman primates. This perceptual ability is maintained in habitats where these predators are no longer present. In a similar domain, the hominin fossil record provides evidence of a long period of exposure to felid predators. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that natural selection engendered some evolved felid-recognition abilities in human ancestors. As explorations of this potential, experimental studies show that children and adults are capable detectors of lion images embedded in arrays of non-dangerous antelope. In thischapter, the perceptual aspects of lions are investigated further by reviewing the neurobiological underpinnings of face recognition and shape and texture processing which include the contextualassociations that promote object recognition. Cave lions (Panthera spelaea) were an important component of cave drawings and mobiliary sculptures of Aurignacian hunter-gatherers in theearly Upper Paleolithic of Europe. Some features of cave lions, such as facial markings and body contours are portrayed in drawings and figurines with anatomical realism, suggesting a level of visual salience that might be indicative of an evolutionary influence.