Evolutionary anthropology / Human evolution Books

Book Synopsis A true-life scientific adventure story, this thrilling book takes the reader deep into South African caves to discover fossil remains that compel a monumental reframing of the human family tree.In the summer of 2022, Lee Berger lost 50 pounds in order to wriggle though impossibly small openings in the Rising Star cave complex in South Africa—spaces where his team has been unearthing the remains of Homo naledi, a proto-human likely to have coexisted with Homo sapiens some 250,000 years ago. The lead researcher on the site, still Berger had never made his way into the dark, cramped, dangerous underground spaces where many of the naledi fossils had been found. Now he was ready to do so. Once inside the cave, Berger made shocking new discoveries that expand our understanding of this early hominid—discoveries that stand to alter our fundamental understanding of what makes us human. So what does it all mean?Join B

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Book SynopsisProf Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and now lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specialising in World History. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind has become an international phenomenon attracting a legion of fans from Bill Gates and Barack Obama to Chris Evans and Jarvis Cocker, and is published in sixty languages worldwide. It was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller and was in the Top Ten for over nine months in paperback. His follow-up to Sapiens, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow was also a Top Ten Bestseller and was described by the Guardian as 'even more readable, even more important, than his excellent Sapiens'. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, was a Number One Bestseller and was described by Bill Gates as 'fascinating' and 'crucial'. Harari worked closely with renowned comics illustrator Daniel Casanave and co-writer David Vandermeulen to create his latest book, an adaptation of his first bestseller, Sapiens Graphic Novel: Volume 1.Trade ReviewI would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species * Bill Gates *Interesting and provocative… It gives you a sense of how briefly we’ve been on this Earth * Barack Obama *Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last… It may be the best book I’ve ever read * Chris Evans *Tackles the biggest questions of history and the modern world… Written in unforgettably vivid language * Jared Diamond *Startling... It changes the way you look at the world * Simon Mayo *Sapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating * Sunday Express *One of the best books I’ve read recently… Gives an excellent overview of how our species has developed * Lily Cole *Sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain… Radiates power and clarity, making the world strange and new * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen did the first humans arrive in Britain? Where did they come from? And what did they look like? This is the amazing story of human life in Britain. It begins nearly one million years ago, during the earliest known human occupation, and reveals how humans have periodically lived there ever since.Trade Review"A beautifully written and illustrated account." Financial Times

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Book SynopsisChris Stringer is Britain's foremost expert on human origins and works in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum. He also currently directs the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, aimed at reconstructing the first detailed history of how and when Britain was occupied by early humans. His previous books include African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity, The Complete World of Human Evolution and most recently, Homo Britannicus, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book of the Year in 2007.Trade ReviewTo follow the dramatic announcements that will be appearing in the media pretty regularly from now on concerning new fossil finds and detailed genetic knowledge on the mutations that distinguish us from Neanderthals, other hominins, and apes, you will need a primer to make sense of the story so far. Here is that book. -- Peter Forbes * The Guardian *The Origin of Our Species combines anecdote and speculation with crisp explanation of the latest science in the study of the first humans. -- John Hawks * New Scientist *When it comes to human evolution [Chris Stringer] is as close to the horse's mouth as it gets...The Origin of Our Species should be the one-stop source on the subject. Read it now -- Henry Gee * BBC Focus *Combining the thrill of a novel with a remarkable depth of perspective, the book offers a panorama of recent developments...Stringer's original ideas will open up avenues for those who deal with genes, fossils or artefacts. -- Jean-Jacques Hublin * Nature *The Origin of Our Species [is] the right book by the right author at the right time. It highlights just how many tantalising discoveries and analytical advances have enriched the field in recent years, and folds them into an appropriately comprehensive, generous and nuanced reflection. -- Marek Kohn * Literary Review *The Origin of Our Species starts as a clear, perceptive survey. It ends by introducing a new way of defining us and our place in history -- Mike Pitts * Sunday Times *Sets out to tackle the big questions about human origins...written in a personal, unpretentious style...a laudable summary of a vital subject -- Matt Grove * British Archaeology *The most up to date synthesis available -- Steven Mithen * London Review of Books *Stringer's writing style is lucid and all-embracing, pulling information and ideas together from all conceivable sources to support his central narrative ... stimulating, informative and entertaining. It deserves to be widely read -- Stephen K. Donovan * Geological Journal *

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Book Synopsis* A TIMES BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR *From the prize-winning author of Adventures in the Anthropocene, the astonishing story of how culture enabled us to become the most successful species on Earth''A wondrous, visionary work'' Tim Flannery, author of The Weather MakersHumans are a planet-altering force. Gaia Vince argues that our unique ability - compared with other species - to determine the course of our own destiny rests on a special relationship between our genes, environment and culture going back into deep time. It is our collective culture, rather than our individual intelligence, that makes humans unique. Vince shows how four evolutionary drivers - Fire, Language, Beauty and Time - are further transforming our species into a transcendent superorganism: a hyper-cooperative mass of humanity that she calls Homo omnis. Drawing on leading-edge advances in population genetics, archaeology, palaeontology and neuroscience, Transcendence compels us to reimagine ourselves, showing us to be on the brink of something grander - and potentially more destructive.''Richly informed by the latest research, Gaia Vince''s colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species'' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation'' Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox''Wonderful ... enlightening'' Robin Ince, The Infinite Monkey CageTrade ReviewA hugely enjoyable sprint through human evolutionary history . . . Read it. -- Tim Radford * Nature *Beautifully written . . . At her best Vince takes dizzying leaps, making connections between archaeology, anthropology, genetics and psychology. She is especially good on the delicate interplay between genes, environment and culture. Vince steps with lightness. -- Tom Whipple * The Times *The storming success of Yuval Noah Harari's books has inspired many others that aim to span the epic sweep of human history with grand theories and cor-blimey factoids. This book does both. -- The Times * Best Science and Medicine Books of the Year *Here is the miraculous creature we are: unlikely, poignant, astonishing ... Much to think about. This book gives rise to many such thoughts and is written with merciful clarity. -- Sebastian BarryWonderful ... enlightening. -- Robin InceRichly informed by the latest research, Gaia Vince's colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation. -- Richard Wrangham, Professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University and author of The Goodness ParadoxAn imaginative and inspiring adventure into the origins and evolution of what we hold most dear: our human culture. -- Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development UCLThis book goes from the Big Bang to the Hundred Thousand Genome Project to make a convincing case that Homo sapiens has become a super-organism. I learned a lot from it and so will you. -- Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics UCL, author of Almost Like a Whale

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Book SynopsisWorld-renowned biohacker and bestselling author Dave Asprey reveals how to maximize your well-being with the minimum effort, by taking control of your body's operating system.If you want to lose weight, boost your energy, or sharpen your mind, there are shelves of books offering myriad styles of advice. If you want to build up your strength and cardio fitness, there are plenty of gyms and trainers ready to offer you their guidance. What all of these resources have in common is they offer you a bad deal: a lot of effort for a little payoff. Dave Asprey has found a better way.In Smarter Not Harder, the proven master of biohacking exposes the surprising secrets of your body's operating system, or its MeatOS. That system is naturally designed to be lazy, which is why sweaty exercise routines and rigid diets produce such limited effects. Dave shows us how to hack the MeatOS and make it do what we want it to do, turning it from obstacle into ally. The key to achieving optimum wellness, he re

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Book SynopsisJust 28,000 years ago, the blink of an eye in geological time, the last of Neanderthals died out in their last outpost, in caves near Gibraltar. Thanks to cartoons and folk accounts we have a distorted view of these other humans - for that is what they were. We think of them as crude and clumsy and not very bright, easily driven to extinction by the lithe, smart modern humans that came out of Africa some 100,000 years ago. But was it really as simple as that? Clive Finlayson reminds us that the Neanderthals were another kind of human, and their culture was not so very different from that of our own ancestors. In this book, he presents a wider view of the events that led to the migration of the moderns into Europe, what might have happened during the contact of the two populations, and what finally drove the Neanderthals to extinction. It is a view that considers climate, ecology, and migrations of populations, as well as culture and interaction. His conclusion is that the destiny of thTrade ReviewA refreshing new perspective on this old debate....should be essential reading for everyone interested in human origins. * Fortean Times, Mark Greener *Lively, revelatory, and salutary book. * The Independent *Table of Contents1. The road to extinction is paved with good intentions ; 2. Once we were not alone ; 3. Failed experiments ; 4. Stick to what you know best ; 5. Being in the right place at the right time ; 6. If only... ; 7. Africa in Europe - a Mediterranean Serengeti ; 8. One small step for man... ; 9. Forever opportunists ; 10. The pawn turned player ; Epilogue: Children of chance ; Endnotes

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Book SynopsisHumans are the dominant species on the planet. But how did we get here? Human Origins takes the reader on a fascinating 7-million-year journey from our earliest primordial ape-like roots through to the present day.For almost a hundred years, scientists have been trying to decipher the secrets of humanity’s evolution. At first, they relied on rare pieces of ancient skulls and bone fragments. But every year, they make new discoveries, uncover new fossils and develop new techniques to tease apart the story of our evolution. So far, from skeletons to teeth, humanity has found more than 6,000 hominin individuals. These individuals span several species, all of which tell the tale of human evolution: how our brains changed over time, what we ate, how we lived. Including the latest scientific findings, Human Origins will also look at some of the biggest questions that remain: What makes humans unique? Where did the Neanderthals go? And are humans still evolving?

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Book SynopsisThe sixth edition of this bestselling text offers a concise history of anthropological theory from antiquity to the twenty-first century, with new and significantly revised sections that reflect the current state of the field.Table of ContentsList of Figures Preface Timeline Introduction Part One: The Early History of Anthropological Theory Anthropology in Antiquity The Middle Ages The Renaissance Voyages of Geographical Discovery The Scientific Revolution The Enlightenment The Rise of Positivism Marxism Classical Cultural Evolutionism Evolutionism versus Diffusionism Archaeology Comes of Age Charles Darwin and Darwinism Sigmund Freud Émile Durkheim Marcel Mauss Max Weber Ferdinand de Saussure Part Two: The Earlier Twentieth Century American Cultural Anthropology Franz Boas Robert Lowie and Alfred Louis Kroeber Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict Zora Neale Hurston Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf The Development of Psychological Anthropology British Social Anthropology A.R. Radcliffe-Brown Bronislaw Malinowski E.E. Evans-Pritchard Edmund Leach Max Gluckman and the “Manchester School” The Legacy of British Social Anthropology Part Three: The Later Twentieth Century French Structural Anthropology Claude Lévi-Strauss Mary Douglas Latter-Day Structuralists Structural Marxists Marshall Sahlins The Legacy of French Structural Anthropology Cognitive Anthropology Ethnoscience and the “New Ethnography” Cultural Neo-evolutionism Leslie White Julian Steward Marshall Sahlins and Elman Service The New Archaeology Cultural Materialism Marvin Harris Nature versus Nurture Biology of Behaviour The New Physical Anthropology Ethology and Behavioural Genetics Sociobiology The Symbolic Turn Victor Turner and Symbolic Anthropology Clifford Geertz and Interpretive Anthropology Post-processual Archaeology The Influence of Symbolic and Interpretive Approaches Transactionalism Fredrik Barth Anthropology and Feminism Political Economy Marx and the World System Sins of the Fathers Ideology, Culture, and Power Postcolonialism Linguistic Anthropology Comes of Age Speech Acts and the Ethnography of Communication Ethnolinguistics and Sociolinguistics Postmodernity Paul Feyerabend Michel Foucault Pierre Bourdieu Anthropology as Text Critical Medical Anthropology Part Four: The Early Twenty-First Century Globalization Culture, Gender, and Sexualities Public Anthropology Development and Controversy Distinguishing Public from Applied Anthropology Debating Fieldwork Ethics and the Military Serving a Global Public World Traditions and Collaborative Anthropology National Traditions and the Dominance of Anglo-America Collaboration with “Other” Voices Anthropologies of the Digital Age

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Book SynopsisThe discoveries of the last decade have brought about a completely revised understanding of human evolution due to the recent advances in genetics, palaeontology, ecology, archaeology, geography, and climate science. Written by two leading authorities in the fields of physical anthropology and molecular evolution, Processes in Human Evolution presents a reconsidered overview of hominid evolution, synthesising data and approaches from a range of inter-disciplinary fields. The authors pay particular attention to population migrations - since these are crucial in understanding the origin and dispersion of the different genera and species in each continent - and to the emergence of the lithic cultures and their impact on the evolution of cognitive capacities.Processes in Human Evolution is intended as a primary textbook for university courses on human evolution, and may also be used as supplementary reading in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. It is also suitable for a more general audience seeking a readable but up-to-date and inclusive treatment of human origins and evolution.Table of Contents1: Evolution, Genetics, and Systematics 2: Taxonomy 3: The Origin of Hominins 4: Miocene and Early Pliocene Hominins 5: Middle and Upper Pliocene Hominins 6: The Emergence of the Genus Homo 7: Lithic Traditions: Tool Making 8: Middle and Lower Pleistocene: The Homo Radiation 9: Hominin Transition to Late Pliocene 10: Species of the Late Pleistocene 11: Neandertals and Modern Humans: Similarities and Differences

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Book SynopsisEvidence that Neanderthals caught birds and used their feathers for decoration, along with recent discoveries of Neanderthal cave art, are challenging our preconceptions of the cognitive gap between Neanderthals and modern humans. Clive Finlayson draws on new evidence to overturn the old image of the Neanderthal, and our relationship with them.Trade ReviewIn this short, engaging book, Finlayson recounts his personal journey to find out about Neanderthals. In doing so, he effectively rattles the bars of the protective cage around our species uniqueness. * Clive Gamble, Archäologische Informationen *This is an anecdotal and quirky book, an act of storytelling in effect, but nonetheless persuasive for that ... The Smart Neanderthal is a touching, slightly eccentric contribution to an evolving story, finding, as all do in this field, tremendous significance in still scant evidence - but it is wonderfully suggestive and engaging. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *The Smart Neanderthal offers both a fascinating exploration of the latest Neanderthal discoveries and a superb study of the evolution of Neanderthals as cultural icons ... highly recommended to readers interested in evolutionary theory, human prehistory, and the complex afterlives of bones. * Lydia Pyne, Los Angeles Review of Books *The Best Science Books to Read For Summer 2019: From Gibraltar's swelter to a frigid Norwegian fjord, the evolutionary biologist takes readers on an adventure in unexpected revelations about this lost lineage of humans. * Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine *No one has done more for Neanderthal public relations than evolutionary archaeologist Clive Finlayson... I found The Smart Neandethal fascinating. * David Miles, Minerva *Well-written and accessible. * Antiquity *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Nana and flint 2: Neanderthals and birds 3: Lessons from the Arctic 4: The long-tailed duck 5: The white ghost 6: Gibraltar 7: The dynamic world of dunes 8: Lakes and plains 9: The great auk 10: Big eyes 11: Digging in the cave 12: Neanderthal real estate 13: Of seals and limpets 14: Birds of a feather 15: The golden eagle 16: Ambushing the scavengers 17: The big six 18: How to skin a vulture 19: Pigeons and choughs 20: Feeding the vultures 21: The hashtag and the end of the long road to Neanderthal emancipation Appendix 1 Bird Names used in the Text Appendix 2 Mammal Names used in the Text Endnotes Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisBrings the science of biological anthropology to bear on understanding how our evolutionary history has shaped a phenomenon everyone has experienced childhood.Tracking deep into our evolutionary history, anthropological science has begun to unravel one particular feature that sets us apart from the many, many animals that came before us our uniquely long childhoods. Growing Up Human looks at how we have diverged from our ancestral roots to stay forever young' or at least what seems like forever and how the evolution of childhood is a critical part of the human story.Beginning with a look at the ways animals invest in their offspring, the book moves through the many steps of making a baby, from pair-bonding to hidden ovulation, points where our species has repeatedly stepped off the standard primate path. From the mystery of monogamy to the minefield of modern parenting advice, biological anthropologist Brenna Hassett reveals how differences betweeTrade ReviewSuperb … and often hilarious. Growing Up Human is what happens when science meets an unusually entertaining and uninhibited writer … should be appreciated by anyone pregnant, planning to be pregnant, or who has ever had a child or been one. * Wall Street Journal *A thought-provoking discussion about why humans experience a long childhood ... Hassett artfully dissects the sometimes problematic dogma surrounding growth and development, such as whether physical size predicts life span; debunks common myths, such as the idea that the reproductive cycles of women who regularly interact with one another will synchronize; and rejects falsehoods, such as the idea that toxins are produced during the menstrual cycle. * Science *Bioarchaeologist Brenna Hassett’s intriguing, entertaining book looks at childhood. She examines distinctive aspects from messy mating and dangerous pregnancies to the puzzling human fondness for formal education and love of the written word. * Nature *With characteristic wit, humour and verve, Brenna Hassett delves deep into our evolutionary past and inner nature to explain why humans are ‘the ape who never grew up’. * Alice Roberts *Bursting with fascinating ideas and surprising facts, Growing Up Human pulls off a masterly trick, with such lucid and entertaining writing that even complex scientific ideas slip down a treat. This is human evolution at its most captivating; clever and charming, just like our amazing babies. * Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of Kindred *It is a comprehensive, thorough, accurate review of recent anthropological findings on everything from pregnancy and birth to lactation, tooth development, play, and learning... This is an excellent book for mothers * Choice *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: An Introduction Chapter 2: Pop! Goes the Weasel: Life History and Why it Matters Chapter 3: Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed: Making More Monkeys Chapter 4: A Froggy Would A-Courting Go: How Weird is Monogamy? Chapter 5: Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie: Conception and Fertility and Fat Chapter 6: Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can: the Joys of Gestation Chapter 7: Cackle, Cackle, Mother Goose: Having a Baby Chapter 8: See-Saw, Margery Daw: Cultural Adaptations to Birth Chapter 9: Bye, Baby Bunting: Caring for a Child the Old-Fashioned Way Chapter 10: Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard: the Magic of Milk Chapter 11: Hey Diddle Diddle: the Cultural Life of Milk

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Book Synopsis100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come? In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come? Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power ... and our future.'Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international bestseller. It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!' - Jared DiamondTrade ReviewI would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species * Bill Gates *Interesting and provocative… It gives you a sense of how briefly we’ve been on this Earth * Barack Obama *Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last… It may be the best book I’ve ever read * Chris Evans *Tackles the biggest questions of history and the modern world… Written in unforgettably vivid language * Jared Diamond *Startling... It changes the way you look at the world * Simon Mayo *

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Book Synopsis'A future classic of popular science' Mail on Sunday 'A dazzling account' Financial Times 'Absorbing, surprising and at times profound. After reading this, reality will never be quite the same' Dave Goulson Our senses are how we navigate the world: they help us recognise the expressions on a loved one's face, know whether fruit is ripe by its smell, or even sense a storm approaching through a sudden drop in air pressure. It's now believed that we may have as many as fifty-three senses - and we're just beginning to expand our knowledge of this incredibly extensive palette. Sensational is a mind-bending look at how our brains shape our experience of the world, marshalling the latest discoveries in science to explore the dazzling eyesight of the mantis shrimp, the rich inner lives of krill, and the baffling link between geomagnetic fields and canine bowel movements. Blending biology and neuroscience, Ward reveals that understanding our senses may hold the key to understanding the origins of human behaviour - from why we kiss to our varied music tastes.Trade Review[An] infectiously enthusiastic survey of the human senses ... underneath the entertainment this is a serious and thoughtful book -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *A rollercoaster combination of science, cultural history, rumour and schoolboy humour * Guardian *Combining biological science with history, culture, sociology and personal reflections, this is a wide-ranging and highly engaging read * Observer *Enlightening and digestible ... Sensational is not only a rich mine of information, it teaches tolerance and understanding ... Listening to his book is a delight * The Times *Ward has conjured up a thrilling - and revolting - world of sensory overload in the style of a goofy lecture. Both learned and irreverent, he can be existentially disturbing and extremely funny in the same paragraph - a talent that could make this a future classic of popular science * Mail on Sunday *A dazzling account of how we use sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell to navigate the world * Financial Times *Ward is more than qualified as our tour guide into the dazzling world of senses - both our own and those of other animals ... an impressive journey -- BBC WildlifeEnjoyable popular science * Kirkus *[An] eye-opening pop-science treatise ... [Ward] packs in innumerable fascinating details ... the delivery benefits greatly from the author's stylish, evocative prose ... this will change how readers see the world * Publisher's Weekly *Absorbing, surprising and at times profound. After reading this, reality will never be quite the same -- Prof Dave Goulson, author * Silent Earth *It is nearly impossible to grasp what other animals smell, see, or feel. Ashley Ward's dive into the way we and other species interpret the surrounding world offers astonishing insights -- Frans de Waal, author * Different: Gender Through The Eyes of a Primatologist *

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Book SynopsisBuild your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right levelWhy can't humans fly? Why are ants so strong? Why can't elephants jump? Our shape and size controls what we can and can't do. Find out how humans and animals are perfectly designed to live in their particular habitats, and discover the role that evolution has played in this.White/Band 10 books have more complex sentences and figurative language.Text type: A simple non-fiction book.Pages 30 and 31 explore the main themes from the book.Curriculum links: Science: Ourselves; Literacy: Explanations.This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader.

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Book SynopsisFitness, natural selection, common ancestry, mutation, chance, taxonomy, and adaptation are central concepts in Darwin's theory of evolution, and in the 20th and 21st century theories that grew out of it. This book uses ideas about probability to discuss philosophical questions that these conceptsraise.Trade Review'Philosophy of biology has grown into a respectable and autonomous discipline, but also become increasingly specialized and fragmented. Elliott Sober's book is poised to rekindle meta-scientific exploration into the epistemological and ontological dimensions of evolutionary biology, and demonstrates to both philosophers and biologists that evolutionary biology remains a fertile ground teeming with captivating conceptual issues.' Jun Otsuka, Kyoto University'Elliott Sober has provided an excellent, lucid tour through all the important concepts and advances in evolutionary theorising from Darwin to the present. His expositions and arguments draw on a wealth of philosophical and biological material, including many of his own original contributions to the field. Philosophers and biologists will find much to ponder, as will non-specialists with an interest in evolutionary theory.' R. Paul Thompson, University of TorontoTable of Contents1. A Darwinian introduction; 2. Fitness and natural selection; 3. Units of selection; 4. Common ancestry; 5. Drift; 6. Mutation; 7. Taxa and genealogy; 8. Adaptationism; 9. Big-picture questions.

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Book SynopsisThe Tomb of the Mili Mongga lives up to its magnificent billing' DAILY TELEGRAPH-A fossil expedition becomes a thrilling search for a mythical beast deep in the Indonesian forest and a fascinating look at how fossils, folklore, and biodiversity converge.A tale of exciting scientific discovery, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga tells the story of Samuel Turvey''s expeditions to the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. While there, he discovers an entire recently extinct mammal fauna from the island's fossil record, revealing how islands support some of the world's most remarkable biodiversity, and why many of these unique endemic species are threatened with extinction or have already been lost.But as the story unfolds, an unexpected narrative emerges Sumba's Indigenous communities tell of a mysterious wildman called the ''mili mongga'', a giant yeti-like beast that supposedly lives in the island's remote forests.Trade ReviewA thoughtful and approachable scientific travelogue stuffed with mystery, humor, and ... monsters? You'll never think about fossils in the same way again! A must read. * Beth Shapiro *Turvey's gripping adventures are a quest to understand human consciousness and explore the differences between cultural truths and scientific facts. * Richard Fortey *Part travelogue and part science, Samuel Turvey’s The Tomb of the Mili Mongga seeks out those elusive links between the present and the past, between fossils and folklore, and brings the reader along on an unexpected journey of discovery. * Steve Brusatte *Like a marvellous combination of H Rider Haggard and Gerald Durrell … Turvey brings fascinatingly diverse scholarship to bear, from theories of species extinction to joyous readings in folklore and anthropology. * Daily Telegraph *Table of ContentsPrologue: Anselm and Gaunilo Chapter One: Splendid Isolation Chapter Two: Sumba, East of Java Chapter Three: Glutton-Granny Chapter Four: Storytelling Chapter Five: Rodents of Unusual Size Chapter Six: Tulang Junkie Chapter Seven: The Wall of the Mili Mongga Chapter Eight: An Interlude with Giant Rats Chapter Nine: The Island of the Day Before Chapter Ten: They Might Be Giants Chapter Eleven: The Perfect Island – A Fairy Tale for Biologists Acknowledgements Notes Index

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Book SynopsisEvolution and Psychology is a critical exploration of how evolutionary approaches can be used to understand the human mind and behaviour. Written for undergraduate students in the social sciences, this text provides an accessible introduction to foundational concepts in evolutionary biology. It then explores evolutionary perspectives on key psychological topics such as cognition, development, group dynamics, mate choice, language and communication, psychopathology, and culture. An interdisciplinary approach is woven throughout, integrating evolutionary psychology with insights from behavioural ecology, anthropology, genetics, and neuroscience. You will learn to think critically about evolutionary explanations, with Warning Flag features throughout the text that address frequently misunderstood topics, common fallacies, and historical misuses and abuses of applying evolutionary theory to human behaviour. This is an essential read for students of Evolutionary Psychology and anyone looking for a contemporary overview of this complex and captivating field. Scott A. MacDougall-Shackleton is Professor of Psychology at Western University. Table of ContentsPart I: Foundations Chapter 1: Introduction to Evolution and Human Behaviour Chapter 2: Natural and Sexual Selection Chapter 3: Human Origins Chapter 4: Evolutionary Approaches to the Study of Human Behaviour Chapter 5: Development as a Central Process Part II: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Social Behaviour Chapter 6: Reproductive Behaviour and Mate Choice Chapter 7: Social Development & Kin-directed Behaviour Chapter 8: Families & Groups: Cooperation and Conflict Part III: Evolutionary Perspectives on Cognition Chapter 9: Perception and Action Chapter 10: Evolution and Cognition Chapter 11: Language Part IV: Evolutionary Perspectives on Psychopathology, Motivation and Emotion, Individual Differences, and Culture Chapter 12: Evolution and Psychopathology Chapter 13: Motivation, Emotion, and Individual Differences Chapter 14: Culture and Evolution

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Book SynopsisThis volume presents the lithic assemblage from Howburn in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which at present is the oldest prehistoric settlement in Scotland (12,700-12,000 BC), and the only Hamburgian settlement in Britain. The site also included a scatter from the Late Upper Palaeolithic Federmesser- Gruppen period (12,000-10,800 BC), as well as lithics from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The book focuses on the Hamburgian finds, which are mainly based on the exploitation of flint from Doggerland, the then dry bed of the North Sea. The Hamburgian tools include tanged arrowheads, scrapers, piercers, burins, and other implement forms which show similarities with tools of the same age on the European continent. The shape of one scatter suggests that the Palaeolithic settlers lived in tent-like structures. The Palaeolithic finds from Howburn shed light on several important general trends, such as the ‘acclimatization’ of pioneer settlers, as well as the development of regional differences following the initial Late Glacial recolonization of Scotland. Palaeo-environmental work focused on whether there was a small lake (‘Loch Howburn’) in front of the terrace on which the camp was situated, and it was concluded that there was indeed a lake there, but it was neither contemporary with the Hamburgian, nor the Federmesser-Gruppen settlement. Most likely, ‘Loch Howburn’ dates to the Loch Lomond stadial.Trade Review‘This fascinating volume focuses on a Scottish settlement site that has its origins in the Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP), inhabited at a time when the glaciers in northern Europe were in retreat. The book presents the results of a large excavation where a considerable lithic assemblage was recovered… This book is an important contribution for understanding the economics of Late Upper Palaeolithic reindeer hunters.’ – George Nash (2018): Current ArchaeologyTable of ContentsPreface ; Introduction ; Characterization of the Assemblage ; Late Upper Palaeolithic Technological Approaches ; On-site Distribution and Activity Patterns ; Dating ; The Palaeo-environmental Context of the Site ; Discussion ; Future Perspectives ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTraces the epic routes by which our human ancestors set out from Africa and peopled the entire planet.Trade Review'Using genetics, archaeology, fossils and climate evidence to construct a portrait of who we are and where we come from, the series promises to be both scientifically meaty and readily digestible.' INDEPENDENT 'Dr Roberts is sunny, clear spoken and breathily enthusiastic ... a star' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Alice Roberts skilfully tells the story of her Odyssey filming "The Incredible Human Journey" in her own words. She has certainly grasped the subject fully and has a strong sympathy with her informants and their contributions. Her superb drawings are a delight. Do buy it' STEPHEN OPPENHEIMER, OXFORD UNIVERSITY

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Book Synopsis'A fascinating new analysis of human violence, filled with fresh ideas and gripping evidence from our primate cousins, historical forebears, and contemporary neighbors' Steven Pinker 'A brilliant analysis of the role of aggression in our evolutionary history' Jane Goodall It may not always seem so, but day-to-day interactions between individual humans are extraordinarily peaceful. That is not to say that we are perfect, just far less violent than most animals, especially our closest relatives, the chimpanzee and their legendarily docile cousins, the Bonobo. Perhaps surprisingly, we rape, maim, and kill many fewer of our neighbours than all other primates and almost all undomesticated animals. But there is one form of violence that humans exceed all other animals in by several degrees: organized proactive violence against other groups of humans. It seems, we are the only animal that goes to war. In the Goodness Paradox, Richard Wrangham wrestles with this paradox at the heart of human behaviour. Drawing on new research by geneticists, neuroscientists, primatologists, and archaeologists, he shows that what domesticated our species was nothing less than the invention of capital punishment which eliminated the least cooperative and most aggressive among us. But that development is exactly what laid the groundwork for the worst of our atrocities.Trade ReviewMagisterial ... [an] extraordinarily detailed, cogently argued, hugely important book -- Paul Levy * Spectator *His skilful storytelling-which intertwines his hypotheses regarding primitive humans with rich details from decades of observations of chimpanzees in Tanzania-makes his book both stimulating and compelling * The Economist *A brilliant analysis of the role of aggression in our evolutionary history -- Jane GoodallNobody knows more, thinks deeper, or writes better about the evolution of modern human beings than Richard Wrangham. Here he reveals a rich and satisfying story about the self-domestication of our species, drawing upon remarkable observations and experiments -- Matt RidleyA fascinating new analysis of human violence, filled with fresh ideas and gripping evidence from our primate cousins, historical forebears, and contemporary neighbors -- Steven PinkerIn this revolutionary, illuminating, and dazzling book, Wrangham provides the first compelling explanation for how and why humans can be so cooperative, kind, and compassionate, yet simultaneously so brutal, aggressive, and cruel. His brilliant self-domestication hypothesis will transform your views of what it means to be human -- Daniel E. Lieberman, author of The Story of the Human BodyThis will prove to be one of the most important publications of our time. Fully supported scientific information from many directions leads us to a new and compelling analysis of our evolutionary history. Every page is fascinating, every revelation is unforgettable. It will change how we see ourselves, our past, and our future -- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of DogsRichard Wrangham has written a brilliant and honest book about humanity's central contradiction: that we are capable of mass murder but live in societies with almost no violence. No other species straddles such a wide gap, and the reasons are staggeringly obvious once Wrangham lays them out in his calm, learned prose. This book is science writing at its best: lucid, rational and yet deeply concerned with humanity -- Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe, War and The Perfect StormThis is the most thought-provoking book I have read in years. In clear, elegant prose, drawing on riveting data and vivid scenes gathered from species all over the world, renowned anthropologist Richard Wrangham examines the issues most central to human morality. How did the concepts of right and wrong evolve? Why does our kind excel at both cooperating with others and at waging war? The Goodness Paradox is a breakthrough book that deserves careful reading, thoughtful consideration, and lively debate among all those who care about our evolutionary history and the future of human morality -- Sy Montgomery, author of Walking with the Great Apes and How to Be a Good CreaturePraise for Catching Fire: Startling and persuasive * Economist *Richard Wrangham presents a powerful thesis - and the more you think about it, the more it seems to be true. As a very considerable bonus, his book is an excellent read -- Colin Tudge * Literary Review *An intriguing thesis... Wrangham's basic thesis, that cooking is the key to the human condition, is convincing and is presented in a lively and readable manner -- Robin McKie * Observer *Lucidly written and accessible... What makes his thesis so gripping to read is that it is elegantly argued, step by step -- Harry Eyres * Financial Times *Compelling [and] brilliant -- William Leith * Daily Mail *A daringly unorthodox book, and one that might just transform the way we understand ourselves. -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *This superbly lucid and comprehensive book shows how important cooking was to making us human. Food, its composition, and how it's harvested and processed are critical in the evolution of every animal species. This masterful work shows how cooking was-and continues to be-an essential part of humanity -- David Pilbeam, Henry Ford II Professor of Human Evolution, Harvard University[Wrangham] has delivered a rare thing: a slim book ... that contains serious science yet is related in direct, no-nonsense prose. It is toothsome, skillfully prepared brain food. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *Absolutely fascinating -- Nigella LawsonRichard Wrangham's book is a tour de force on how to study human evolution, combining original ideas with an extraordinary range of science. With elegance and clarity, he has shown how cooking permeates all human life, and must have played a major part in making us what we are as a species -- Robert Foley, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of CambridgeCatching Fire is an extraordinary book-a truly important insight into our human past, and as always with Wrangham's work, a real page turner. He has the great gift of making hard and accurate science seem like an adventure story, as indeed it is. Like Demonic Males, Catching Fire will be read in many circles, from classrooms to general readers, to the enlightenment of us all. -- Elizabeth Marshall ThomasIt's nice to have it confirmed that the raw foodists are not just annoying but also wrong... [Richard Wrangham] writes in this brilliant and original piece of science writing, which explains nothing less than who we are and how we got here... With devastating clarity he shows that the "Man the Hunter" thesis simply does not add up... Wrangham convincingly argues that unlike animals, human beings could not flourish on a raw diet (so yah-boo to the wheatgrass evangelists!)... you have to pinch yourself from time to time to remember just how new Wrangham's argument is. Something this big and original in evolutionary studies doesn't come along very often... In many ways, this is an exhilarating book... It is, too, a good book for vegetarians, who for too long have endured the Neanderthal taunts of carnivorous chefs -- Bee Wilson * the Times *Brilliantly Original and illuminating -- Michael Kerrigan * Scotsman *Able to see my preparations for Sunday lunch in a dizzying new perspective... Catching Fire is very readable and not in the least technical. Wrangham makes a compelling case... Wrangham's placing of cooking at the centre of what it is to be human carries a great deal of emotional conviction too. The ritual of the family Sunday lunch now also celebrates the birth of our species -- Ian Irvine * Evening Standard *Good, big ideas about evolution are rare... Catching Fire is that rare thing, an exhilarating science book. And one that, for all its foodie topicality, means to stand the test of time -- Simon Ings * Sunday Telegraph *Transforms a daily chore into a pivotal existential act stretching back millennia... a hugely readable history of our culinary pedigree... an energetic and enjoyable book... In this vivid account of human evolution, there's no need to cook the books * Sunday Business Post *Richard Wrangham's ingredients are freshly gathered from an impressive variety of fields -- Steve Jones * Guardian *This is the best kind of scientific writing: clear, strongly argued and provocative. That it's still contentious makes it all the more exciting. * The Weekend Australian *

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Book SynopsisA beautiful new hardback anniversary edition of the multi-million copy sensationINCLUDES A NEW AFTERWORD FROM YUVAL NOAH HARARIWhat makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?One of the world's preeminent historians and thinkers, Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us.In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.PRAISE FOR SAPIENS:'Interesting and provocative... It gives you a sense of how briefly we've been on this Earth' Barack Obama'Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last... It may be the best book I've ever read' Chris Evans'Startling... It changes the way you look at the world' Simon Mayo'I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who's interested in the history and future of our species' Bill GatesTrade ReviewSapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating * Sunday Express *Unforgettably vivid language. I urge everyone to read it * H Edition *A fantastic book about how homo sapiens came to conquer the world * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A new and compelling evolutionary stance on comparative cognition." * Choice *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Biological Anthropology, Ancient History, and Archaeology, Association of American Publishers""I highly recommend this book to everybody interested in New World monkeys, be it scientists, students in all stages of their scientific training or informed laymen. I am convinced that the controversial issues raised in this book will stimulate further research, bringing the 'evolutionary odyssey' closer to a safe harbour of knowledge."---Eckhard W. Heymann, Primate Biology"[A] great primer for individuals who are new to primatology, but also a thought-provoking read for seasoned researchers who will benefit fromhis 'big picture' view of the platyrrhine radiation."---Leila M. Porter, The Quarterly Review of Biology"This is an admirable book, ready to be enjoyed by primate specialists and general readers alike."---Mark Terry, American Biology Teacher"Primatologists and biological anthropologists—whether just starting out or well into their careers—will have an interest in this work."---E.J. Sargis, CHOICE"[A] comprehensive and incredibly accessible book." * Inquisitive Biologist *

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Book SynopsisA powerful and critical investigation of iron deficiency in women throughout evolutionary history and in our current societyWomen of the world are beset by a hidden hunger: iron deficiency. Up to 40% of reproductive-aged women across the globe have iron deficiency anemia, and it contributes to 20% of maternal deaths. Despite these dire statistics, women are not routinely screened for iron deficiency. Iron deficiency has been used as a tool to control, categorize, and even ignore women and their suffering. Biomedical remedies - mostly iron supplementation - are unequally and indifferently applied to global populations of women. Thicker Than Water explores the reasons women are especially vulnerable, using evolutionary theory and social theory to understand the causes and consequences of iron deficiency in women. Contrary to popular belief, homeostasis protects the iron stores of women from iron loss during menstruation. Women''s iron metabolism has evolved to balance the benefits and da

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Book SynopsisHumans are rather weak when compared with many other animals. We are not particularly fast and have no natural weapons. Yet Homo sapiens currently number nearly 7.5 billion and are set to rise to nearly 10 billion by the middle of this century. We have influenced almost every part of the Earth system and as a consequence are changing the global environmental and evolutionary trajectory of the Earth. So how did we become the worlds apex predator and take over the planet? Fundamental to our success is our intelligence, not only individually but more importantly collectively. But why did evolution favour the brainy ape? Given the calorific cost of running our large brains, not to mention the difficulties posed for childbirth, this bizarre adaptation must have given our ancestors a considerable advantage. In this book Mark Maslin brings together the latest insights from hominin fossils and combines them with evidence of the changing landscape of the East African Rift Valley to show how all these factors led to selection pressures that favoured our ultrasocial brains. Astronomy, geology, climate, and landscape all had a part to play in making East Africa the cradle of humanity and allowing us to dominate the planet.Trade ReviewThis book offers far more than a palaeoanthropological cocktail with a twist ... In synthesising the most recent research in palaeoanthropology and giving the ecology of our ancestors a climatological twist, Maslin has produced a book that is fascinating, humbling and informative. * Adrian Barnett, New Scientist *Impressively in-depth and well-explained mix of encyclopaedic information... There is an amazing amount of information packed into this surprisingly slim book. * Chris Fitch, Geographical *Palaeoclimatologist Mark Maslin delves into deep time to trace humanity's rise to geological hegemony. Examining early hominin finds in East Africa, he spotlights three stages (bipedalism in Australophithecus, a jump in brain size in Homo erectus and Homo sapiens' arrival some 195,000 years ago) and the roles of climate change, celestial mechanics and plate tectonics in their emergence. Ultimately, he theorizes that 'climate pulses' in the Rift Valley, in which hyper-arid conditions alternated with the formation of vast lakes, helped to drive the evolution of the big hominin brain. * Nature *Anyone who reads The Cradle of Humanity will certainly be enlightened about this awe-inspiring journey. * Andrew Robinson, Current World Archaeology *Understanding the emergence of our species from the unique landscapes of East Africa is one of the great scientific challenges. Mark Maslin takes us on an exhilarating intellectual journey, encompassing geology, astronomy, climate science and evolutionary biology, to argue that the unique landscape and ever-changing climate of the East African Rift Valley were instrumental in catalysing the emergence of a civilisation on our planet. I'm left with a dizzying feeling of our good fortune to be here at all, and a powerful sense of our responsibility, as Maslin notes, to earn our species name: "Wise"." * Professor Brian Cox *As we confront rapid, major changes in the earth's climate today, it is imperative we understand how past climate change made us who we are. This fast-paced book vividly tells the story of how and why shifting environments have been driving human evolution ever since our earliest beginnings in Africa, and why those changes matter. * Daniel E Lieberman, Harvard University, author of Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease *An interesting and novel take on the subject ... a superb and highly recommended book that convincingly argues how the happenstance conditions in East Africa shaped us and our forebears. * Leon Vlieger, NHBS *A powerful, gripping account of how the dynamic earth shaped human evolution... With impressive ease, Maslin packs a tremendous amount of knowledge into a flowing narrative, making the point that special conditions for a number of species of tropical apes on the African continent eventually turned out to be luck... A tour de force through Earth's history and a timely reminder of just how lucky we are to be here at all. * Peter C. Kjærgaard, Director and Professor, Natural History Museum of Denmark *In this tale of mountains, monsoons, and meteorites, climate and ocean currents, Maslin masterfully puts human evolution into context, and shows how the earth and its environments have shaped us. * Professor Alice Roberts, anthropologist, author, and broadcaster *Table of Contents1: Introduction2: Early Human Evolution3: Tectonics and Climate4: Cradle of Humanity5: Global Climate Change6: Celestial Mechanics7: African Climate Pulses8: The Social Brain9: The Future of HumanityFurther ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisVan Riper chronicles the Victorian debate over the idea of prehistoric human origins within the context of Victorian science, showing how the notion of human antiquity forced Victorians to redefine their assumptions about human evolution and the relationship of science to Christianity.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThrough a set of unique case studies written by an international group of practicing forensic anthropologists, Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology: Bonified Skeletons prepares students and professionals for the diverse range of cases and challenges they will encounter in the field. Every forensic anthropology case is unique. Practitioners routinely face new challenges and unexpected outcomes. Courses and introductory texts generally address standard or ideal cases. In practice, however, forensic anthropologists must improvise frequently during forensic archaeological recoveries and laboratory analyses based on case circumstances. Most forensic anthropologists have encountered unconventional cases with surprising results. While these cases act as continuing education for practitionersâbetter preparing them for future encountersâ such learning opportunities may be limited by the extent of personal experiences. This text exposes practitioners and studentsTable of ContentsI: Estimation of the Biological Profile & Positive Identification1: Death Along the Tracks: The Role of Forensic Anthropology and Social Media in a Homicide Investigation, Eric J. Bartelink2: The Skull in Concrete: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Identification, Kristen Hartnett-McCann and Ruth E. Kohlmeier 3: The Use of Medical Implants to Aid in the Identification Process, Jennifer Vollner 4: Biomechanical Analysis of Long Bones Provides the Crucial Break in Decedent Identification, Daniel J. Wescott 5: Race and the Role of Sociocultural Context in Forensic Anthropological Ancestry Assessment, Michala K. Stock and Katie M. Rubin 6: Globalization, Transnationalism, and the Analytical Feasibility of Ancestry Estimation, Joseph T. Hefner and Jennifer F. ByrnesII: Forensic Taphonomy7: What Forensic Taphonomy Can Do for You: A Case Study in Rural Pennsylvania, Andrea M. Ost, Rhian R. Dunn, and Dennis C. Dirkmaat 8: Dismembered, Burned, and Dumped: But in What Order?, Lindsay H. Trammell 9: Body in the Barrel: Complex Body Disposal and Recovery, Soren Blau and David Ranson 10: Sealed for Your Protection: A Triple Homicide Involving the Use of a Corrosive Agent to Obscure Identity, Laura C. Fulginiti, Kristen M. Hartnett-McCann, and Frank Di Modica 11: Differential Diagnosis in Forensic Entomology: Mites vs. Pathologies and Taphonomy, César Sanabria-Medina, Luz Elena Cifuentes, and Maria Alexandra Lopez-Cerquera 12. Lacustrine Skeletal Taphonomy from Southeastern Tennessee, Murray K. Marks, Jonathan D. Bethard, and Darinka Mileusnic-PolchanIII: Trauma13: Who Pulled the Trigger…First? Bone Biomechanics Recreate the Story Behind a "Police Shooting," Steven A. Symes, Ericka N. L’Abbé, and Mark M. LeVaughn 14: Forensic Anthropological Contributions to Manner of Death in a Case of Multiple Suicidal Gunshot Wounds, Diana L. Messer 15: A Unique Case of Skeletal Trauma Involving Scissors, Alexandra R. Klales 16: Sharp Force Trauma with Subsequent Fire Alteration: A Complicated Case Study, Erin N. Chapman 17: Forensic Anthropology's Role in Clarifying Cause of Death in the Appeal of a No Body Homicide Conviction, Ashley E. Kendell, Eric J. Bartelink, and Turhon MuradIV: Human Rights and Mass Disasters18: A Multi-Year Forensic Archaeological Recovery of Human Remains from a C-124 Cargo Aircraft Crash on Colony Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., Gregory E. Berg, Owen L. O’Leary, and Kelley S. Esh 19: Quadrilateral Defects in the Tuskulenai and Leon Trotsky Cases: Skeletal Trauma Associated with Soviet Violence in Two Different Contexts, Cate E. Bird and Rimantas Jankauskas 20: Sexual Offense in Skeletonized Cadavers: Analysis, Interpretation, Documentation and Case Report, César Sanabria-Medina, Jorge Andrés Franco Zuluaga, and María Alexandra Lopez-Cerquera 21: Making the Best of Limited Resources and Challenges Faced in Human Rights Investigations, Eugénia Cunha, Maria Teresa Ferreira, Cristina Cordeiro, and Duarte Nuno Vieira 22: Search for Spanish Civil War Victims in the Cemetery of Sant Ferran, Formentera (Spain): Oral Witness Testimonies, Secondary Deposition Site and Peri-Mortem Trauma, Almudena García-Rubio, Juanjo Marí Casanova, Glenda Graziani, Francisca Cardona, Pau Sureda, Sergi Moreno, Nicholas Márquez-Grant 23: Excavation and Analysis of Human Remains from Mass Graves in the Western Sahara, Francisco Etxeberria, Lourdes Herrasti, and Carlos Martin-BeristainV: Other Considerations24: The Use of Human Skeletal Remains in Palo Rituals in Orange County, Florida, John J. Schultz, Ashley E. Green, Ronald A. Murdock II, Marie H. Hansen, Joshua D. Stephany, and Jan C. Garavaglia 25: To Understand the Parts, it is Necessary to Understand the Whole: The Importance of Contextualizing Patterns in Forensic Anthropology Casework, Laura C. Fulginiti, Andrew Seidel, Katelyn Bolhofner 26: Perpetrators, Pack Rats, and Postmortem Disturbances: A Case Study Involving Multiple Contexts, Jurisdictions, and Identities, Angela Berg, Kent Buehler, and Carlos Zambrano 27: The Case of the … Cases: The Flow of the Ordinary into a Medical Examiner’s Office, James T. Pokines

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Book SynopsisThe Routledge Handbook of Archaeothanatology spans the gap between archaeology and biological anthropology, the field and laboratory, and between francophone and anglophone funerary archaeological approaches to the remains of the dead and the understanding of societies, past and present.Interest in archaeothanatology has grown considerably in recent years in English-language scholarship. This timely publication moves away from anecdotal case studies to offer syntheses of archaeothanatological approaches with an eye to higher-level inferences about funerary behaviour and its meaning in the past. Written by francophone scholars who have contributed to the development of the field and anglophone scholars inspired by the approach, this volume offers detailed insight into the background and development of archaeothanatology, its theory, methods, applications, and its most recent advances, with a lexicon of related vocabulary.This volume is a key source for archaeo-anTrade ReviewWinner of the European Association of Archaeologists Archaeology Book Prize 2023'For too long, language has divided French and English-speaking researchers over approaches to the archaeology of death. This very substantial volume brings them together for the first time in a major endeavour which reveals the range and potential of archaeothanatological approaches.' ~ Mike Parker Pearson, University College London, United Kingdom'Harking back on many decades of evolving archaeothanatology in action, this book certainly sets a new global standard both in burial excavations and depositional reconstructions of human skeletal remains and their contexts.' ~ Vera Tiesler, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, MexicoTable of ContentsIntroduction: Archaeothanatology, funerary archaeology and bioarchaeology: perspectives on the long view of death and the dead Christopher J. Knüsel and Eline M.J. Schotsmans Part I: Archaeothanatology – methodological guidelines 1. Methodological guidelines for archaeothanatological practice Frédérique Blaizot 2. A tale of two worlds: Terminologies in archaeothanatologyBruno Boulestin3. Words between two worlds: Collective graves and related issues in burial terminology Bruno Boulestin and Patrice Courtaud4. Secondary cremation burials of past populations: Some methodological procedures for excavation, bone fragment identification and sex determinationGermaine Depierre 5. The accompanying deadBruno Boulestin6. Denied funeral rites: The contribution of the archaeothanatological approach Aurore SchmittPart II: Period-specific applications 7. Early primary burials: Evidence from Southwestern AsiaAnne-marie Tillier8. The earliest European burials Bruno Maureille 9. Beyond the formal analysis of funerary practices? Archaeothanatology as a reflexive tool for considering the role of the dead amongst the living: A Natufian case study Fanny Bocquentin 10. What can archaeothanatology add? A case study of new knowledge and theoretical implications in the re-study of Mesolithic burials in Sweden and DenmarkLiv Nilsson Stutz11. Neolithic burials of infants and childrenMélie Le Roy and Stéphane Rottier12. Defining collective burials: Three case studiesAurore Schmitt13. Different burial types but common practice: The case of the funerary complex at Barbuise and La Saulsotte (France) at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age Stéphane Rottier14. Deathways of the Durotriges: Reconstructing identity through archaeothanatology in later Iron Age southern BritainKarina Gerdau-Radonić, Janne Sperrevik, Martin Smith, Paul Cheetham, and Miles Russell15. The Roman cemetery of Porta Nocera at Pompeii: The contribution of osteological re-associations to the study of secondary cremation burialsHenri Duday16. Reopening graves for the removal of objects and bones: Cultural practices and looting Edeltraud Aspöck, Karina Gerdau-Radonić and Astrid Noterman17. Cluniac funerary practicesEleanor Williams18. ‘Bring out your dead’: Funerary and public health practices in times of epidemic diseaseDominique Castex and Sacha Kacki19. Jewish funerary practices in Medieval EuropePhilippe Blanchard20. Islamic burials: Muslim graves and graves of MuslimsYves Gleize21. Recognising a slave cemetery: An example from colonial-period Guadeloupe, Lesser AntillesPatrice Courtaud and Thomas RomonPart III: Archaeothanatology of associated remains22. Archaeothanatological approaches to associated remains in funerary contexts in Europe: An overviewIsabelle Cartron and Aurélie Zemour23. An archaeothanatological approach to the identification of late Anglo-Saxon burials in wooden containersEmma C. Green24. Ceramic studies in funerary contexts from Roman GaulChristine Bonnet25. Animal remains in burialsPatrice Méniel 26. The walking dead – life after death: archaeoentomological evidence in a Roman catacomb: (Saints Marcellinus and Peter, central area, 1st-3rd century AD)Jean-Bernard Huchet and Dominique CastexPart IV: Applied sciences, experiments and legal considerations27. From flesh to bone: building bridges between taphonomy, archaeothanatology and forensic science for a better understanding of mortuary practices Eline M.J. Schotsmans, Patrice Georges-Zimmerman, Maiken Ueland, and Boyd B. Dent28. Exploring the use of actualistic forensic taphonomy in the study of (forensic) archaeological human burials: An actualistic experimental research programme at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University (FACTS), San Marcos, TexasHayley L. Mickleburgh, Daniel J. Wescott, Sarah Gluschitz, and M. Victor Klinkenberg29. An experimental approach to the interpretation of prehistoric cremation and cremation burialsMogens B. Henriksen 30. The taphonomic and archaeothanatological potentials of diagenetic alterations of archaeological boneThomas J. Booth, David Brönniman, Richard Madgwick, and Cordula Portmann31. 3D models as useful tools in archaeothanatologyGéraldine Sachau-Carcel32. Use of archaeothanatology in preventive (salvage/rescue) archaeology and field research archaeology Mark Guillon33. Managing and reburying ancient human remains in France: From legal and ethical concerns to field practicesGaëlle ClavandierPart V: Lexicon of archaeothanatological terms34. Lexicon of terms used in archaeothanatology: A work still in the process of becoming Christopher J. Knüsel, Karina Gerdau-Radonić, and Eline M.J. Schotsmans

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Book SynopsisThe discovery of the first species of African hominin, Australopithecus africanus, from Taung, South Africa in 1924, launched the study of fossil man in Africa. New discoveries continue to confirm the importance of this region to our understanding of human evolution. Outlining major developments since Raymond Dart's description of the Taung skull and, in particular, the impact of the pioneering work of Phillip V. Tobias, this book will be a valuable companion for students and researchers of human origins. It presents a summary of the current state of palaeoanthropology, reviewing the ideas that are central to the field, and provides a perspective on how future developments will shape our knowledge about hominin emergence in Africa. A wide range of key themes are covered, from the earliest fossils from Chad and Kenya, to the origins of bipedalism and the debate about how and where modern humans evolved and dispersed across Africa.Trade Review'African Genesis is a good contribution to the paleoanthropological literature and it will undoubtedly find its way into many university libraries.' Jeremy M. DeSilva, American Journal of Human BiologyTable of ContentsList of contributors; Foreword J. T. Francis Thackeray; 1. African genesis: an evolving paradigm Sally C. Reynolds; 2. Academic genealogy Peter Ungar and Phillip V. Tobias; Part I. In Search of Origins: Evolutionary Theory, New Species, and Paths into the Past: 3. Speciation in hominin evolution Colin Groves; 4. Searching for a new paradigm for hominid origins in Chad (Central Africa) Michel Brunet; 5. From hominoid arboreality to hominid bipedalism Brigitte Senut; 6. Orrorin and the African ape/hominid dichotomy Martin Pickford; 7. A brief history and results of 40 years of Sterkfontein excavations Ronald J. Clarke; Part II. Hominin Morphology Through Time: Brains, Bodies and Teeth: 8. Hominin brain evolution, 1925–2011: an emerging overview Dean Falk; 9. The issue of brain reorganisation in Australopithecus and early hominids: Dart had it right Ralph L. Holloway; 10. The mass of the human brain: is it a spandrel? Paul R. Manger, Jason Hemingway, Muhammad Spocter and Andrew Gallagher; 11. Origin and diversity of early hominin bipedalism Henry M. McHenry; 12. Forelimb adaptations in Australopithecus afarensis Michelle S. M. Drapeau; 13. Hominin proximal femur morphology from the Tugen Hills to Flores Brian G. Richmond and William L. Jungers; 14. Daily rates of dentine formation and root extension rates in Paranthropus boisei, KNM-ER 1817, from Koobi Fora, Kenya M. Christopher Dean; 15. On the evolutionary development of early hominid molar teeth and the Gondolin Paranthropus molar Kevin L. Kuykendall; 16. Digital South African fossils: morphological studies using reference-based reconstruction and electronic preparation Gerhard W. Weber, Philipp Gunz, Simon Neubauer, Philipp Mitteroecker and Fred L. Bookstein; Part III. Modern Human Origins: Patterns, and Processes: 17. Body size in African Middle Pleistocene Homo Steven E. Churchill, Lee R. Berger, Adam Hartstone-Rose and Headman Zondo; 18. The African origin of recent humanity Milford H. Wolpoff and Sang-Hee Lee; 19. Assimilation and modern human origins in the African peripheries Fred H. Smith, Vance T. Hutchinson and Ivor Janković; 20. Patterns of Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution in Africa and the emergence of modern humans Emma Mbua and Günter Bräuer; 21. Integration of the genetic, anatomical, and archaeological data for the African origin of modern humans: problems and prospects Osbjorn M. Pearson; Part IV. In Search of Context: Hominin Environments, Behaviour and Lithic Cultures: 22. Animal palaeocommunity variability and habitat preference of robust australopiths in South Africa Darryl J. de Ruiter, Matt Sponheimer and Julia Lee-Thorp; 23. Impacts of environmental change and community ecology on the composition and diversity of the southern African monkey fauna from the Plio-Pleistocene to the present Sarah Elton; 24. African genesis revisited: reflections on Raymond Dart and the 'Predatory Transition from Ape(-Man) to Man' Travis R. Pickering; 25. Shared intention in early artefacts: an exploration of deep structure and implications for communication and language John A. J. Gowlett; 26. Sibudu Cave: recent archaeological work on the Middle Stone Age Lyn Wadley; 27. The oldest burials and their significance Avraham Ronen; Index.

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Book SynopsisOn his death, Arthur Boucot (1924–2017) left an unfinished manuscript in which he surveyed the skeletal, behavioural, and cultural changes that have characterized Homo from its first recognition in the Late Pliocene to the present. The subjects he treated were as varied as the preparation of food for infants, the length of intestines, hafting, plastering, use of flint and metals, the domestication of grains and animals, and the prevalence of parasitic diseases. His text repeatedly notes the difficulties imposed by the enormous gaps in both fossil and archaeological records. Boucot deduced a continuity in basic human behaviours from the Oldowan and Acheulian into modern forms, and made a point of including Neandertals and Denisovans. But he also pointed out that morphological changes in successive species of Homo do not coincide in time with major changes in lithic technologies. Boucot concluded that a quantum evolutionary gap separates hominins from the great apes: that members of our line were sapient and had been using language long before they became sapiens. In his text he also indicates his concern for changes to the environment wrought by human activities. The results of this late-life effort, edited after his death, provide a heavily referenced sourcebook for future workers in diverse fields.Table of ContentsPreface ; Introduction ; Thesis ; First Appearance of ‘New’ Behaviors or New Technologies? ; Taxonomy ; Quantum Evolution ; Data ; Summary ; Skeletal Features ; Soft-Tissue Evidence with Some Skeletal Basis ; Soft-Tissue Evidence Supported by Molecular Information ; Soft Tissue Variables with No Skeletal Evidence ; Behavioral Features ; Physiological Features ; Food Processing ; Sources of Food ; Evidence for Cultivation ; Cooking ; Gathering and Processing Fruits, Seeds, and other Edible Plant Parts ; Hunting and Fishing ; Farming ; Water Resources ; Human-Waste Disposal, Rubbish Disposal, Baths, and Drainage ; Behavioral–Technological Innovations ; Tools and Materials ; Warfare and Interpersonal Violence ; Textiles, Clothing, Basketry, Matting, Wooden Containers ; Property ; Trading and Transport of Materials ; Transportation ; Fire ; Architecture ; Measurements and Numbers ; Scales, Balances, Weights ; Religion ; Care of the Handicapped ; Communication ; Art ; Conclusions ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOffers a social history of Chinese paleoanthropology and a cultural - and at times comparative - history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. Focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics, this book offers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.Trade Review"This is one of the few books on science in twentieth-century China, a burgeoning area of research, and the first book on popular science in China. The People's Peking Man unquestionably breaks new ground." - Fa-ti Fan, Binghamton University"

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Book SynopsisThin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archeology and Ecology synthesizes the current knowledge about our sister species the Neandertals, combining data from a variety of disciplines to reach a cohesive theory behind Neandertal low population densities and relatively low rate of technological innovation. The book highlights and contrasts the differences between Neandertals and early modern humans and explores the morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptive solutions which led to the extinction of the Neandertals and the population expansion of modern humans. Written by a world recognized expert in physical anthropology, Thin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archaeology and Ecology will be a must have title for anyone interested in the rise and fall of the Neandertals.Trade Review“This book should serve both as a comprehensive introduction to the debate and as a timely stimulus to new research.” (Antiquity, 1 August 2015)Table of ContentsSeries Introduction ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xv Chapter 1 Thin on the Ground: Population Density and Technological Innovation 1 Note 7 Chapter 2 The Neandertals in Time and Space 9 2.1 Geographic and Temporal Boundaries 10 2.2 Defining the Neandertals 13 2.3 Neandertal DNA 27 2.4 Neandertal Taxonomy 30 2.5 Regional and Temporal Variation in Neandertal Morphology 30 2.6 The Evolutionary History of the Neandertals 32 Notes 39 Chapter 3 Neandertal Material Culture 41 3.1 Neandertal-associated Lithic Industries 42 3.2 Variation in the Eurasian Middle Paleolithic: Technology as Adaptive Interface 53 3.3 Composite Technology, and the Archeologically Less-visible Component of Technology 59 3.4 Subsistence Technology 61 3.5 Domestic Technology 67 Notes 69 Chapter 4 The Body Neandertal 71 4.1 Neandertal Body Size: Short but Massive 72 4.2 Body Composition: “Scaled Up” Inuit? 79 4.3 The Cost of Size: Feeding a Large Body and Large Brain 82 4.3.1 Nutrition and Somatic Maintenance: Neandertal Bodies were Energetically Costly 83 4.3.2 Nutrition and Reproduction: Were Neandertal Mothers Like Polar Bears? 92 4.3.3 Dietary Shortfalls: Hard and Lean Winters 97 4.4 The Benefits of Size: Neandertal Body Size in Ecological Context 99 Notes 104 Chapter 5 Surviving the Cold 107 5.1 How Cold Was It? 108 5.1.1 Cold–Temperate Conditions (MIS 5d-a and 3) 109 5.1.2 Cold Glacial Conditions (MIS 6 and 4) 111 5.2 Human Adaptation to the Cold 114 5.3 Cold Adaptation and Neandertal Morphology 117 5.3.1 The Survival Value of Neandertal Body Form 124 5.3.2 Craniofacial Morphology and Cold Adaptation 129 5.4 Physiological Solutions to Cold Stress 137 5.5 Cold Stress and Neandertal Behavior 141 5.5.1 Activity 141 5.5.2 Extrasomatic Heat Production and Conservation: Fire, Shelter and Clothing 142 5.6 Thermogenic Capacity and Cold Tolerance 146 5.7 The Neandertals Were Cold-adapted 148 Notes 149 Chapter 6 The Caloric Economy of Pleistocene Europe 151 6.1 Issues in the Reconstruction of Past Environments 152 6.2 Pleistocene Biomes of Europe and Western Asia 157 6.2.1 Interglacial Europe: Marine Isotope Stages 7 and 5e 159 6.2.2 Productivity and Edible Resources of Interglacial Environments 162 6.2.3 Temperate Interglacial Europe: Marine Isotope Stages 5d–a and 3 169 6.2.4 Cold Steppic Europe: Marine Isotope Stages 6 and 4 173 Notes 175 Chapter 7 Neandertals as Consumers 179 7.1 Analysis of Food Residues: The Macromammal Component of Neandertal Diet 181 7.2 Analysis of Food Residues: The Small Animal Data 187 7.3 Analysis of Food Residues: Macrobotanical Remains 191 7.4 Dental Wear and Food Residues on Teeth 194 7.5 Stable Isotope and Trace Element Analyses 200 7.6 The Thorny Issue of Cannibalism 214 7.7 The Trophic Ecology of Neandertals 216 Notes 218 Chapter 8 Red in Tooth and Claw: Neandertals as Predators 219 8.1 Neandertal Morphology and Predation 220 8.1.1 Scapular Glenoid Fossa 222 8.1.2 Elbow Joint Morphology 224 8.1.3 Superior Pubic Ramus Length 226 8.1.4 Humeral Diaphyseal Cross-sectional Geometry 226 8.1.5 Entheseal (Muscle Marking) Morphology 233 8.2 Neandertals as Close-range Predators 236 8.3 Prey Size, Hunting “Pack” Size, and Risk of Injury to Neandertal Hunters 245 8.4 Neandertal Hunting in Ecological Context 246 Notes 249 Chapter 9 In the Company of Killers: Neandertals as Carnivores 251 9.1 Large-bodied Carnivores of the Eurasian Late Pleistocene 253 9.2 The Members of the Eurasian Pleistocene Large-bodied Carnivore Guild 256 9.2.1 Homotherium latidens 256 9.2.2 Panthera leo spelaea 258 9.2.3 Panthera pardus 259 9.2.4 Crocuta crocuta spelaea 260 9.2.5 Hyaena hyaena 262 9.2.6 Canis lupus 262 9.2.7 Cuon alpinus 263 9.3 Competition within the Carnivore Guild 264 9.3.1 Exploitation Competition 265 9.3.2 Interference Competition 268 9.4 Neandertals Were Not the Socially-Dominant Members of the Carnivore Guild 271 9.5 Neandertal Ecology in the Context of Competition within the Carnivore Guild 276 Notes 284 Chapter 10 The Cost of Living in Ice Age Europe 287 10.1 Subsistence Organization and Mobility 289 10.2 Home Range Size 299 10.2.1 Lithic Raw Material Movement 300 10.2.2 Carnivore Models for Estimating Neandertal Mobility 302 10.3 Paleontological Reflections of Neandertal Mobility 309 10.4 The Energetic Cost of Mobility 316 10.5 The Energetic Cost of Domestic Activities 321 10.6 Neandertal Physical Activity Levels 324 Notes 331 Chapter 11 Neandertal Social Life, Life History, and Demography 333 11.1 Subsistence Labor Demands, Group Size, and Social Structure 336 11.2 Neandertal Life History 342 11.3 Neandertal Demography 347 Notes 352 Chapter 12 From Thin to Thick: The African MSA 353 12.1 Tipping the Scales on Population Growth 355 12.2 Culture Change in the Late MSA and Mousterian 360 Note 363 References 365 Index 445

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Book SynopsisThe first publication to outline the complex global story of human migration and dispersal throughout the whole of human prehistory. Utilizing archaeological, linguistic and biological evidence, Peter Bellwood traces the journeys of the earliest hunter-gatherer and agriculturalist migrants as critical elements in the evolution of human lifeways. The first volume to chart global human migration and population dispersal throughout the whole of human prehistory, in all regions of the world An archaeological odyssey that details the initial spread of early humans out of Africa approximately two million years ago, through the Ice Ages, and down to the continental and island migrations of agricultural populations within the past 10,000 years Employs archaeological, linguistic and biological evidence to demonstrate how migration has always been a vital and complex element in explaining the evolution of the human species Outlines how significant migraTrade Review “In sum, First Migrantsis a commendable effort to synthesize a growing body of literature on the subject and will serve as a useful and much needed text for courses on the subject. For those generally unfamiliar with different parts of the world and why people moved to and fro, Bellwood has offered an attractive resource and one which should prove useful in that regard for years to come.” (American Antiquity, 1 July 2014) “This is a significant contribution to our understanding of world archaeology.” (Antiquity, 1 June 2014) Table of Contents List of Figures ix Preface xiv A Note on Dating Terminology xvi Acknowledgements xvii 1 The Relevance and Reality of Ancient Migration 1 Migration in Prehistoric Times 4 Hypothesizing About Prehistoric Migrations 6 Migrations in History and Ethnography 8 The Helvetii 8 Ancient China 9 Medieval Iceland 10 The Nuer of Sudan 10 The Iban of Sarawak 12 Relevance for Prehistoric Migration? 13 2 Making Inferences About Prehistoric Migration 17 Changes in Time and Space – Genes, Languages, Cultures 18 Human Biology, Genetics, and Migration 19 Demic Diffusion 21 Language Families and the Study of Migration in Prehistory 22 Language Family Spread: Lessons from Recent History 26 Language Family Spread: Lessons from Anthropology 28 Dating the Spreads of Language Families 29 Cultures in Archaeology – Do They Equate with Linguistic and Biological Populations? 30 Archaeology and the Study of Migration in Prehistory 32 One End of the Spectrum – Intensive Culture Change without Significant Migration 32 The Other End of the Spectrum – Intensive Cultural Change with Significant Migration 33 3 Migrating Hominins and the Rise of Our Own Species 36 Behavioral Characteristics and Origins of Early Hominins in Africa 38 First Hominin Migration(s) – Out of Africa 1 41 Unfolding Species in Time and Space 46 Java, Flores, and Crossing the Sea 48 Out of Africa 2? 50 Out of Africa 3? The Origins of H. sapiens 52 The Recognition of Modern Humans in Biology and Archaeology 54 The Expansion of Modern Humans Across the African and Eurasian Continents, 130,000–45,000 Years Ago 58 Africa 58 The Levant and Southern Asia 60 Northern and Western Eurasia 63 The Fate of the Neanderthals 66 Explanations? 67 4 Beyond Eurasia: The Pioneers of Unpeopled Lands – Wallacea and Beyond, Australia, The Americas 71 Crossing the Sea Beyond Sundaland 72 How Many Settlers? 74 The First Australo-Melanesians 76 The Archaeology of Island Colonization – Wallacea, Melanesia, Australia 77 Heading North and Offshore Again – Japan 81 The Americas 83 Getting to Beringia 84 Circumventing the Ice 88 The Rapid Unfolding of American Colonization 90 5 Hunter-Gatherer Migrations in a Warming Postglacial World 96 Postglacial Recolonizations in Northern Eurasia 97 After the First Americans: Further Migrations Across Bering Strait 101 Na-Dene and Yeniseian 101 The Apachean Migration 104 The Holocene Colonizations of Arctic Coastal North America 105 The Thule Migration and the Inuit 107 The Early Holocene Colonization of a Green Sahara 109 Continental Shelves and Their Significance for Human Migration 112 Holocene Australia – Pama-Nyungan Migration? 113 Linguistic Prehistory during the Australian Holocene 117 Who Were the Ancestral Pama-Nyungans? 119 6 The First Farmers and Their Offspring 123 Where and When Did Food Production Begin? 124 Why Did Food Production Develop in Some Places, but Not Others? 127 Why Was Domesticated Food Production Relatively Slow to Develop? 128 Food Production and Population Expansion 129 The Neolithic 133 Food Production as the Driving Force of Early Agriculturalist Migration 135 7 The Fertile Crescent Food Production Complex 140 Agricultural Origins in the Fertile Crescent 141 Neolithic and Chalcolithic Expansion Beyond the Fertile Crescent 147 Anatolia and Southeastern Europe 147 Neolithic Migration Beyond Greece and the Balkans 149 The Steppes and Central Asia 151 Iran, Pakistan, and South Asia Beyond the Indus 153 Linguistic History and the Spread of the Fertile Crescent Food Production Complex 157 Perspectives from Indo-European 157 The Possible Significance of the Turkic and Yeniseian Languages in Central Asia 163 West Eurasian Genetic and Population History in the Holocene 165 Peninsular Indian Archaeology and Dravidian Linguistic History 168 The Spread of the Fertile Crescent Food-Producing Economy into North Africa 169 The Fertile Crescent Food Production Complex and Its Impact on Holocene Prehistory in Western Eurasia 172 8 The East Asian and Western Pacific Food Production Complexes 178 Agricultural Origins in the Yellow and Yangzi Basins of East Asia 178 Migrations from the Yellow River Basin 181 Migrations from the Yangzi Basin – Mainland Southeast Asia 182 Early Rice and the Linguistic Record 187 Genetics, Human Biology, and the East Asian Mainland during the Holocene 189 Island Southeast Asia and Oceania 191 The Colonization of Oceania 194 The History of the Austronesian Language Family 197 Biological Anthropology and the Austronesians 201 The East Asian and Western Pacific Food Production Complexes and Their Impacts on Holocene Prehistory 204 9 The African and American Food Production Complexes 210 Food Production in Sub-Saharan Africa 211 West Africa and the Niger-Congo-Speaking Populations 213 The African Food Production Complex in Perspective 218 Holocene Migrations in the Americas 219 The Central Andes 221 Amazonia 224 The Caribbean Islands 228 Mesoamerica 229 Northern Mesoamerica, the Southwestern United States, and the Uto-Aztecans 230 The Eastern Woodlands 234 The American Food Production Complexes and Their Impacts on Holocene Prehistory 238 10 The Role of Migration in the History of Humanity 243 References 249 Index 299

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Book SynopsisThe sixth edition of this bestselling text offers a concise history of anthropological theory from antiquity to the twenty-first century, with new and significantly revised sections that reflect the current state of the field.Table of ContentsList of Figures Preface Timeline Introduction Part One: The Early History of Anthropological Theory Anthropology in Antiquity The Middle Ages The Renaissance Voyages of Geographical Discovery The Scientific Revolution The Enlightenment The Rise of Positivism Marxism Classical Cultural Evolutionism Evolutionism versus Diffusionism Archaeology Comes of Age Charles Darwin and Darwinism Sigmund Freud Émile Durkheim Marcel Mauss Max Weber Ferdinand de Saussure Part Two: The Earlier Twentieth Century American Cultural Anthropology Franz Boas Robert Lowie and Alfred Louis Kroeber Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict Zora Neale Hurston Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf The Development of Psychological Anthropology British Social Anthropology A.R. Radcliffe-Brown Bronislaw Malinowski E.E. Evans-Pritchard Edmund Leach Max Gluckman and the “Manchester School” The Legacy of British Social Anthropology Part Three: The Later Twentieth Century French Structural Anthropology Claude Lévi-Strauss Mary Douglas Latter-Day Structuralists Structural Marxists Marshall Sahlins The Legacy of French Structural Anthropology Cognitive Anthropology Ethnoscience and the “New Ethnography” Cultural Neo-evolutionism Leslie White Julian Steward Marshall Sahlins and Elman Service The New Archaeology Cultural Materialism Marvin Harris Nature versus Nurture Biology of Behaviour The New Physical Anthropology Ethology and Behavioural Genetics Sociobiology The Symbolic Turn Victor Turner and Symbolic Anthropology Clifford Geertz and Interpretive Anthropology Post-processual Archaeology The Influence of Symbolic and Interpretive Approaches Transactionalism Fredrik Barth Anthropology and Feminism Political Economy Marx and the World System Sins of the Fathers Ideology, Culture, and Power Postcolonialism Linguistic Anthropology Comes of Age Speech Acts and the Ethnography of Communication Ethnolinguistics and Sociolinguistics Postmodernity Paul Feyerabend Michel Foucault Pierre Bourdieu Anthropology as Text Critical Medical Anthropology Part Four: The Early Twenty-First Century Globalization Culture, Gender, and Sexualities Public Anthropology Development and Controversy Distinguishing Public from Applied Anthropology Debating Fieldwork Ethics and the Military Serving a Global Public World Traditions and Collaborative Anthropology National Traditions and the Dominance of Anglo-America Collaboration with “Other” Voices Anthropologies of the Digital Age

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Book SynopsisReadings for a History of Anthropological Theory curates and collects many of the most important publications of anthropological thought spanning the last hundred years, building a strong foundation in both classical and contemporary theory. The sixth edition includes seventeen new readings, with a sharpened focus on public anthropology, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and the Anthropocene. Each piece of writing is accompanied by a short introduction, key terms, study questions, and further readings that elucidate the original text.On its own or together with A History of Anthropological Theory, sixth edition, this anthology offers an unrivalled introduction to the theory of anthropology that reflects not only its history but also the changing nature of the discipline today.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Part One The Early History of Anthropological Theory Overview 1. Bourgeois and Proletarians Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 2. The Science of Culture Edward Burnett Tylor 3. Ethnical Periods Lewis Henry Morgan 4. General Summary and Conclusion [The Descent of Man] Charles Darwin 5. Introduction [The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life] Émile Durkheim 6. Conclusion [The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies] Marcel Mauss 7. The Sociology of Charismatic Authority Max Weber 8. Nature of the Linguistic Sign and Synchronic and Diachronic Law Ferdinand de Saussure Part Two The Earlier Twentieth Century Overview 9. The Methods of Ethnology Franz Boas 10. Conclusion [Primitive Society] Robert Lowie 11. What Anthropology Is About Alfred Louis Kroeber 12. Introduction [Coming of Age in Samoa] Margaret Mead 13. The Individual and the Pattern of Culture Ruth Benedict 14. The Unconscious Patterning of Behavior in Society Edward Sapir 15. Introduction and Part One: Folk Tales, John and the Frog, Witness of the Johnstown Flood in Heaven [Mules and Men] Zora Neale Hurston 16. Social Structure Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown 17. The Subject, Method, and Scope of This Inquiry [Argonauts of the Western Pacific] Bronislaw Malinowski 18. Model Systems Edmund Leach 19. Rituals of Rebellion in South-East Africa Max Gluckman Part Three The Later Twentieth Century Overview 20. Structuralism and Ecology Claude Lévi-Strauss 21. Introduction [Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo] Mary Douglas 22. Introduction [Islands of History] Marshall Sahlins 23. Componential Analysis and the Study of Meaning Ward H. Goodenough 24. Energy and Tools Leslie White 25. Archaeology as Anthropology Lewis Binford 26. The Epistemology of Cultural Materialism Marvin Harris 27. The New Physical Anthropology Sherwood Washburn 28. Symbols in Ndembu Ritual Victor Turner 29. Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture Clifford Geertz 30. Woman the Gatherer: Male Bias in Anthropology Sally Slocum 31. The Female World of Cards and Holidays: Women, Families, and the Work of Kinship Micaela di Leonardo 32. Introduction [Anthropology & the Colonial Encounter] Talal Asad 33. Knowing the Oriental Edward W. Said 34. Introduction [Europe and the People Without History] Eric R. Wolf 35. Introduction: Toward Ethnographies of Communication Dell Hymes 36. The Subject and Power Michel Foucault 37. Structures, Habitus, and Practices Pierre Bourdieu 38. Partial Truths James Clifford 39. A Crisis of Representation in the Human Sciences George E. Marcus and Michael M.J. Fischer 40. A Critical-Interpretive Approach in Medical Anthropology: Rituals and Routines of Discipline and Descent Margaret Lock and Nancy Scheper-Hughes Part Four The Early Twenty-First Century Overview 41. Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy Arjun Appadurai 42. “We’re Here and We’re Queer!”: An Introduction to Studies in Queer Anthropology Michelle Walks 43. David Maybury-Lewis and Cultural Survival: Providing a Model for Public Anthropology, Advocacy, and Collaboration Louise Lamphere 44. Introduction [Other People’s Anthropologies] Aleksandar Bošković and Thomas Hylland Eriksen 45. An Indigenous Feminist’s Take on the Ontological Turn: “Ontology” Is Just Another Word for Colonialism Zoe Todd 46. From Kinship to Link-up: Cell Phones and Social Networking in Jamaica Heather Horst and Daniel Miller 47. Introduction: Contemporary Theoretical Debate in Archaeology [Archaeological Theory Today] Ian Hodder 48. Introduction [Is Science Racist?: Debating Race] Jonathan Marks 49. Earth Stalked by Man Anna Tsing Conclusion Sources Index of Key Words

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Book SynopsisThrough the Lens of Anthropology is a concise introduction to anthropology that uses the twin themes of food and sustainability to connect evolution, biology, archaeology, history, language, and culture. The third edition remains a highly readable text that encourages students to think about current events and issues through an anthropological lens.Beautifully illustrated with over 100 full-color images and maps, along with detailed figures and boxes, this is an anthropology book with a fresh perspective and a lively narrative that is filled with popular topics. The new edition has been updated to reflect the most recent developments in anthropology and the contributions of marginalized scholars, while the use of gender-neutral language makes for a more inclusive text. New content offers anthropological insight into contemporary issues such as COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo.Through the Lens of Anthropology continues to be an essential text forTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Boxes Acknowledgments About the Authors Preface Note to Instructors Note to Students 1. Introduction: Viewing the World through the Lens of Anthropology 2. We Are Primates: The Primate Background 3. Evolutionary Thought and Theory 4. Human Biological Evolution 5. Cultural Diversity from 2.53 Million to 20,000 Years Ago 6. Cultural Diversity from 20,000 to 5,000 Years Ago 7. Archaeology of the Last 5,000 Years 8. Studying Culture 9. Language and Culture 10. Food-Getting and Economics 11. Marriage, Family, and Gender, and Sexuality 12. Political Organization 13. Supernaturalism 14. Anthropology and Sustainability Glossary References Index

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Book SynopsisIn the early twentieth century, people in the southwestern Pacific nation of Vanuatu experienced rapid population decline, while in the early twenty-first century, they experienced rapid population growth. From colonial governance to postcolonial sovereignty, Moral Figures shows that despite attempts to govern population size and birth, reproduction in Vanuatu continues to exceed bureaucratic economization through Ni-Vanuatu insistence on Indigenous relationalities. Through her examination of how reproduction is made public, Alexandra Widmer demonstrates how population sciences have naturalized a focus on women’s fertility and privileged issues of wage labour over women’s land access and broader social relations of reproduction. Widmer draws on oral histories with retired village midwives and massage healers on the changes to care for pregnancy and birth, as well as ethnographic research in a village outside the capital of Port Vila. Locating the PacificTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Map of the Pacific Ocean and Vanuatu Map of South Efate Map of Port Vila Acknowledgments Preface Introduction 1. “The Shortage of Women Is the Cause of These Courts”: Imbalanced Sex Ratios, Native Courts, and Marriage Disputes Made Public, 1910–1950 2. “The Nurses Looked Out for Us!”: Hospital Births, Relational Infrastructures, and Public Concerns, 1950–1970 3. “It Will Help Planning for the Future”: Making Men’s and Women’s “Subsistence” Public Knowledge in the First Census, 1966–1967 4. “I Just Wanted to Be Invisible”: “Young Mothers” from Global Discourse to Village Experience, 2010–2020 5. “Well-Being for Melanesia”: Alternative Indicators, Massage Healers, and Reciprocal Relationships, 2010–2020 Epilogue: Relations of Reproduction and Survival in the Anthropocene Appendix 1: Population Size from 1850 to 2020 Appendix 2: Overview of Biomedical Health Services in Vanuatu in 1954 Works Cited

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Book SynopsisIn the early twentieth century, people in the southwestern Pacific nation of Vanuatu experienced rapid population decline, while in the early twenty-first century, they experienced rapid population growth. From colonial governance to postcolonial sovereignty, Moral Figures shows that despite attempts to govern population size and birth, reproduction in Vanuatu continues to exceed bureaucratic economization through Ni-Vanuatu insistence on Indigenous relationalities. Through her examination of how reproduction is made public, Alexandra Widmer demonstrates how population sciences have naturalized a focus on women’s fertility and privileged issues of wage labour over women’s land access and broader social relations of reproduction. Widmer draws on oral histories with retired village midwives and massage healers on the changes to care for pregnancy and birth, as well as ethnographic research in a village outside the capital of Port Vila. Locating the PacificTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Map of the Pacific Ocean and Vanuatu Map of South Efate Map of Port Vila Acknowledgments Preface Introduction 1. “The Shortage of Women Is the Cause of These Courts”: Imbalanced Sex Ratios, Native Courts, and Marriage Disputes Made Public, 1910–1950 2. “The Nurses Looked Out for Us!”: Hospital Births, Relational Infrastructures, and Public Concerns, 1950–1970 3. “It Will Help Planning for the Future”: Making Men’s and Women’s “Subsistence” Public Knowledge in the First Census, 1966–1967 4. “I Just Wanted to Be Invisible”: “Young Mothers” from Global Discourse to Village Experience, 2010–2020 5. “Well-Being for Melanesia”: Alternative Indicators, Massage Healers, and Reciprocal Relationships, 2010–2020 Epilogue: Relations of Reproduction and Survival in the Anthropocene Appendix 1: Population Size from 1850 to 2020 Appendix 2: Overview of Biomedical Health Services in Vanuatu in 1954 Works Cited

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Book SynopsisBones and Bodies is a highly accessible account of the establishment of the scientific discipline of biological anthropology. Alan G Morris takes us back over the past century of anthropological discovery in South Africa and uncovers the stories of individual scientists and researchers who played a significant role in shaping perceptions of how peoples of southern Africa, both ancient and modern, came to be viewed and categorised both in the public imagination and the scientific literature.Morris reveals how much of the earlier anthropological studies were tainted with the tarred brush of race science, evaluating the works of famous anthropologists and archaeologists such as Raymond Dart, Thomas Dreyer, Matthew Drennan and Robert Broom. Morris also considers how modern anthropology tried to rid itself of the stigma of these early racist accounts. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ronald Singer and Phillip Tobias introduced modern methods into the discipline that disputed much of what the public wished to believe about race and human evolution. Bones and Bodies shows the battle facing modern anthropology to acknowledge its racial past but also how its study of human variation remains an important field of enquiry at institutions of higher learning.Table of Contents List of Illustrations A Note on the Use of Historical Terminology Acknowledgements List of Characters with Dates of Birth, Death and Affiliation Schema of Types Introduction Chapter 1 Dr Louis Péringuey’s Well-Travelled Skeletons Chapter 2 Boskop: The First South African Fossil Human Celebrity Chapter 3 Matthew Drennan and the Scottish Influence in Cape Town Chapter 4 The Age of Racial Typology in South Africa Chapter 5 Raymond Dart’s Complicated Legacy Chapter 6 Ronald Singer, Phillip Tobias and the ‘New Physical Anthropology’ Chapter 7 Physical Anthropology and the Administration of Apartheid Chapter 8 The Politics of Racial Classification in Modern South Africa Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed author Matt Ridley's thrilling follow-up to his bestseller 'Genome'. Armed with the extraordinary new discoveries about our genes, Ridley turns his attention to the nature versus nurture debate to bring the first popular account of the roots of human behaviour.Trade Review‘“Nature via Nurture” sets the modern terms for an ancient debate, and at the same time delivers a superb tutorial on contemporary genetics; the feedback loop that embraces genes and environment is generally not well understood. And yet this plasticity, this elegant mutuality, seems crucial if our new understanding of human nature is to inform public policy. These times need a book like this.’ Ian McEwan ‘Lucidly explains the most recent discoveries on what makes us what we are, and how we should think about these discoveries as we ponder who we want to be…A treat, written with insight, wisdom, and style.’ Steven Pinker, author of ‘The Blank Slate’ ‘Bracingly intelligent, lucid, balanced – witty, too. “Nature via Nurture” is a scrupulous and charming look at our modern understanding of genes and experience.’ Oliver Sacks ‘A real page-turner. What a superb writer he is, and he seems to get better and better.’ Richard Dawkins, author of ‘The Selfish Gene’

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Book SynopsisOur ability to think is one of our most puzzling characteristics. What it would be like to be unable to think? What would it be like to lack self-awareness? The complexity of this activity is striking. Thinking involves the interaction of a range of mental processes - attention, emotion, memory, planning, self-consciousness, free will, and language. So where did these processes arise? What evolutionary advantages were bestowed upon those with an ability to deceive, to plan, to empathize, or to understand the intentions of others? In this compelling work, Peter Gärdenfors embarks on an evolutionary detective story to try and solve one of the big mysteries surrounding human existence - how has the modern human being''s way of thinking come into existence. He starts by taking in turn the more basic cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, then builds upon these to explore more complex behaviours, such as self-consciousness, mindreading, and imitation. Having done this, he examines the consequences of putting thought into the world, using external media like cave paintings, drawings and writing.Immensely readable and humorous, the book will be valuable for students in psychology and biology, whilst remaining accessible to readers of popular science.Trade ReviewGardenfors presents a wealth of thought-provoking information and discussion, with a well-argued viewpoint, in a clear style. * JBE, Vol. 40, No. 4 *. . . well written and admirably succinct. Although it has an argument to make, it does so in a fair and evenhanded way. This would make a good introduction for anyone venturing into the evolution of mind literature for the first time. * Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol 79, No 4 *Table of Contents1. THINKING FROM AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE; 2. SENSATION, PERCEPTION AND IMAGINATION; 3. THE WORLD WITHIN; 4. READING OTHER PEOPLE'S MINDS; 5. SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS; 6. THE DAWN OF LANGUAGE; 7. THE ORIGIN OF SPEECH; 8. EXTERNALISING THE INNER WORLD

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Book SynopsisThere is intense debate over whether humans evolved from a single, African group of hominids (the 'Out of Africa' theory) or from several different populations from different regions. Here, Dr Lahr presents hard evidence for the 'Out of Africa' option, in a book which will be a must for all those interested in human evolution.Trade Review'Lahr deserves a lot of credit for her very thorough presentation of so much evidence. Supporters of multi-regional evolution will be hard pressed to counter her main points.' Tree' … an important study … likely to remain an essential reference in the debate over recent human evolution for the foreseeable future.' Alan Bilsborough, Annals of Human BiologyTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The modern human origins debate; Part I. Multiregional Evolution as the Source of Human Cranial Diversity: 3. The morphological basis of the multiregional model; 4. The regional expression of the East Asian and Australian continuity traits; 5. Temporal distribution of the 'Regional Continuity Traits' in late Pleistocene hominids; 6. The independence of expression of the 'Regional Continuity Traits'; 7. Multiregional evolution as the source of recent regional cranial diversity; a review; Part II. The Evolution of Modern Human Cranial Diversity from a Single Ancestral Source: 8. Cranial variation in Homo sapiens; 9. Morphological differentiation from a single ancestral source; 10. Geographical differentiation from a single ancestral source; 11. The evolution of modern human cranial diversity; 12. Final conclusions; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this set of books Leakey and his collaborators discuss the geological evidence, its relation to the fauna and other fossil evidence, the problems of climatic sequence and the use of potassium-argon dating. The purpose of this volume is to provide a context in which the fossil human remains and the Stone Age cultural sequence at Olduvai can be studied.Table of ContentsList of maps and text figures; List of plates; Introductory note; Foreword Professor G. Gaylord Simpson; Introduction; 1. The general geological evidence; 2. Review of earlier reports on the fauna; 3. Mammalian fauna: other than Bovidae; 4. Mammalian fauna: Bovidae; 5. Non-mammalian fauna; 6. Review of the faunal evidence; 7. The problems of the climatic sequence; 8. Dating by the potassium-argon technique; 9. Note on fossil human discoveries and cultural evidence; Appendices; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisOlduvai Groge is a valley in the Serengeti Plains at the western margin of the Eastern Rift Valley in northern Tanzania. The formations discussed in this volume, Beds I and II, were deposited in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene and have yielded large quantities of the remains of early man, in the form of bones and stone tools and evidence of the environment in which they lived. Bed I, in which remains of Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis have been found, is firmly dated between 1.9 million years for the lowest level and 1.65 million years for a level below the top. This third volume describes the excavations. In Part I, starting with the lowest levels and devoting a chapter to each main level, Dr Leakey describes the actual process of excavation and the finding of the principal remains. In Part II, Dr Leakey describes the circumstances of the discovery of the hominid skeletal remains. These range from purposive excavation to accidental discovery while collecting small stones forTable of ContentsList of figures; List of tables; List of plates; Introductory note; Foreword Professor J. D. Clark; Acknowledgements; Map; Introduction; Geologic background of Beds I and II: Stratigraphic summary Professor R. L. Hay; Part I: 1. Lower bed I. Site DK and site FLK NN: Level 4; 2. Middle bed I. Site FLK NN: Levels 1–3. Site FLK: the 'zinjanthropus' level and the upper levels; 3. Upper bed I and lower bed II. Site FLK north: Levels 1–6, the clay with root casts and the Deinotherium level. Site HWK east: Levels 1 and 2; 4. The lower part of middle bed II. Site HWK east: the sandy conglomerate: Levels 3–5; 5. The upper part of middle bed II. Site EF–HR. The main occupation site at MNK. Sites FC west and FC. Site SHK; 6. Upper bed II. Sites TK and BK; Part II. 7. The discoveries of hominid remains; 8. Mammalian bones from Beds I and II with evidence of hominid modification; 9. The faunal remains from the living sites in Beds I and II; 10. Summary and discussion; Appendices; References; Index.

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