Primatologia

VIII Iberian Primatological Conference
Evolution, behaviour and conservation: Homepage to Professor Jordi Sabater Pi
Barcelona, October 5-8, 2022

Keywords: IKUNDE centre, Equatorial Guinea, human evolution, educational activity
The objective of this research is to provide some unpublished biohistoriographical data of Jordi Sabater Pi.
Despite the temporal and geographical distance that separated me from the honored professor, at some moments in our life trajectory we maintained bonds of authentic collaboration and friendship, mainly in the work of early human behaviour and background. According to a chronological criterion, in this study we describe the precedents of what would later become the centre of Ikunde, located a few kilometres from Bata, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, in 1956, with some photographs of our family archive. Later, in 1959, a new space was directed by Sabater Pi himself, with the mission of supplying a large part of the zoological, ethnographic, archaeological and botanical collections to enrich the cultural facilities of the city of Barcelona, an activity that continued for approximately another decade. We continue with the phase dedicated to the teaching of courses and the assembly of exhibitions and, finally, the organization ofseminars in different centres of the UNED. The presence of loquet de Neu (Snowflake) in our city, for so many years, contributed to preserve clearly the fragments of the pages lived in Africa.

Keywords: Scientific drawing, Pierre Laurent, Julià Riu Serra, Mauricio Antón, Pilarín Bayès, Francesc
Riart
This research pretends to exalt the figure of Dr. Jordi Sabater Pi, in particular his facet as a scientific draftsman, providing some reflections on drawing as a universal language that allows not only to record, document and describe certain elements with all rigor, but also transmit contents of great complexity in an intelligible way to society in general, impregnating them with feelings infused by the author himself. In order to provide more information and contextualize his work as a divulgator of the behaviour of primates -without detaching them from the evolutionary tree of “primigenius” humans- we also include some considerations regarding other extraordinary illustrators who, with very different styles, have focused on said theme. The level of excellence achieved by Professor Sabater Pi through his drawings encourages the viewer to delight in the great plastic beauty and feel the emotion of delving into the knowledge of these beings so close to us. Ultimately, the sensitivity nd tenderness of the representations evoke the desire to protect and preserve nature, as its author diffused with vehemence and conviction throughout his entire life.