Prologue For Students: A Guide To Studying Human Evolution.
Part I: The Framework Of Human Evolution:.
1. The Growth Of The Evolutionary Perspective:.
Man’s Place In Nature.
Establishing The Link Between Humans And Apes: Historical Views.
Human Evolution As Narrative And Explanation.
2. The Principles Of Evolutionary Theory:.
The Fundamentals Of Evolutionary Theory.
Modern Evolutionary Theory: The Development Of Neo-Darwinism And The Power Of Natural Selection.
3. Pattern And Process In Evolution:.
From Micro To Macro Evolution: Debates In Modern Evolutionary Theory.
The Physical Context Of Evolution.
Extinction And Patterns Of Evolution.
4. The Geological Context:.
Dating Methods.
Science Of Burial.
5. The Systematic Context:.
Systematics.
Molecular Systematics.
6. Human Evolution In Comparative Perspective:.
Primate Heritage.
The Comparative Perspective.
Bodies, Size, And Shape.
Bodies, Brains, And Energy.
7. Reconstructing Behavior:.
Bodies, Behavior, And Social Structure.
Nonhuman Models Of Early Hominin Behavior.
Part II: Early Hominin Evolution:.
8. Apes, Hominins, And Humans: Morphology, Molecules, And Fossils:.
Morphology And Molecules: A History Of Conflict.
Evolution Of The Catarrhines – The Context Of Hominin Origin.
9. Searching For The First Hominins:.
The Earliest Hominins.
Bipedalism.
10. The Ape-Like Hominins:.
The Australopithecines.
11. Origins Of Homo:.
The Genus Homo.
Hominin Relationships.
12. Behavior And Evolution Of Early Hominins:.
Early Tool Technologies.
The Pattern Of Early Hominin Evolution.
13. Africa And Beyond - The Evolution Of Homo:.
Evolutionary Patterns.
New Technologies.
Hunter Or Scavenger.
Part III: Later Hominin Evolution:.
14. The Origin Of Modern Humans: Background And Fossil Evidence:.
Background For The Evolution Of Modern Humans.
Competing Hypotheses For Modern Human Origins.
Chronological Evidence.
The Question Of Regional Continuity.
15. The Origin Of Modern Humans: Genetic Evidence:.
The Impact Of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics.
Recent Developments.
16. The Origin Of Modern Humans: Archeology, Behavior, And Evolutionary Process:.
Archeological Evidence.
Regional Patterns In The Archeology.
Towards An Integrated Model Of Modern Human Origins.
17. Evolution Of The Brain, Intelligence, And Culture:.
Encephalization.
Cultural Evolution.
18. Language And Symbolism:.
The Evolution Of Language.
Art In Prehistory.
19. New Worlds, Old Worlds:.
Completing Colonization.
The First Villagers.
The Human Evolutionary Heritage.
References.
Roger Lewin is an Associate of the Peabody Museum at Harvard
University. He is the author of half a dozen books on human origin
research, three of which he co-authored with world-famous
anthropologist Richard Leakey, as well as the author of the
prize-winning Bones of Contention.
Robert A. Foley is the Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of King’s College. He is the author of numerous articles and books on human evolution, including Another Unique Species (1987) and Humans before Humanity (1995). His research has focused on the links between human evolution and ecological and evolutionary mechanisms.
Review from Times Higher Education Supplement, February 2004
-Alan Bilsborough, University of Durham
Human evolutionary studies now encompasses such wide-ranging
subject matter that accounts confined to simple narrations of the
fossil record no longer suffice, while the pace of discovery
creates a continuing demand for clear, balanced introductions to
the subject. This book's authors - an expert science communicator
and a researcher who has had a major influence in broadening
theoretical perspectives on human evolution - form a dream team to
guide us through the subject's complexities. This much-expanded
second edition of an established text differs from its predecessor
and virtually every other treatment in its range and its emphasis
on principles, whether of evolutionary theory, phylogenetics,
behaviour, ecology or comparative frameworks. Whereas most accounts
condense such fundamentals into an abbreviated introduction before
homing in on the hominid fossil record, this book dedicates some
200 pages, or about 40 per cent of the text, to the subject. The
approach is to view human evolution as exemplifying general
evolutionary forces and processes that impact on hominids as on
other species, not to treat human evolution as a one-off case for
which issues of evolutionary dynamics, adaptation, ecology and so
on have little, if any, relevance. The book is impressively broad
in scope, well organised and clearly written. Key issues are
flagged up, with questions alongside the text to serve as prompts.
Alternative interpretations are accurately summarised, with a
balanced commentary and sufficient facts to indicate each
argument's basics without overloading detail. Each chapter ends
with a "Beyond the facts" box summarising a current issue and its
underlying concepts to stimulate further thought. There are
reasonable illustrations of important fossil specimens and
excellent diagrams that greatly clarify issues of theory and
interpretation. An associated website promises further resources. I
would have welcomed rather more coverage of the fossil evidence; on
the other hand, there is a very clear pr?cis of genetic data
bearing on modern human origins, and an excellent account of
cognitive and behavioural aspects of human evolution. The book is
aimed at the US market but will find many takers this side of the
Atlantic among anthropology, archaeology and evolutionary biology
students. Inevitably, some aspects will quickly be overtaken by new
discoveries. The website, if developed, will help here, but minor
obsolescences matter little compared with the book's great
strength, which is to provide readers with an accessible, secure
and comprehensive conceptual framework for human evolution, within
which they can make sense of new developments. Alan Bilsborough,
University of Durham, Times Higher Education Supplement, February
2004
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
