Adam S. Wilkins is the author of The Evolution of Developmental Pathways and editor of the “Perspectives” section of Genetics.
Making Faces makes faces fascinating by opening a window onto an
intriguing biological landscape. Lucid accounts of the roles played
by genes, bones, muscle, and brain foreshadow provocative questions
about race, sex, and psychology. Wilkins’s elegant account is a
guide not only to what we see in the mirror, but also to the latest
and the best in human evolution.
*Richard Wrangham, author of Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us
Human*
Making Faces is a highly readable account of how and why the human
face is the way it is. Wilkins lucidly weaves together over a
century of research on the development, anatomy, and evolution with
new provocative ideas.
*Daniel E. Lieberman, author of The Evolution of the Human
Head*
Tracing our evolutionary history back to the emergence of the first
vertebrates some 500 million years ago, Wilkins pairs biological
and genetic studies with the archaeological record to examine how
humans developed the most expressive faces in the animal kingdom.
It was an intriguing transformation that also provided the
foundation for some
of our species’ unique characteristics, including the neural and
muscular mechanisms necessary for speech, the cognitive ability to
interpret emotional responses, and thereby sociability and culture.
The book…gives a truly fresh appreciation of the wonders of the
human face—even if they are still lost on us first thing in the
morning.
*Current World Archaeology*
This engaging and highly readable book offers a lucid account of
the diverse areas of ‘scientific investigation’ that have shaped
contemporary understanding of the evolution of the human face…[It]
will appeal to any individual with an interest in human evolution
and biology.
*Choice*
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
