Description
Book SynopsisThis new edition of a widely adopted primary and supplementary text explores human adaptations to environments over time. It is biologically and culturally sophisticated, drawing on an impressive array of archaeological and paleontological research. Campbell proceeds from earlier, simpler biomes to later, more complex ones, examining selected aspects of the prehistory and history of the human species. Human Ecology offers a succinct introduction to the history of these adaptations within ecosystems: a shared concern among anthropologists, biologists, environmentalists, and the general reader.
In the years since this book was first published, the problems that the human species has faced have become more serious. As predicted, world population has rapidly increased, and with it starvation, malnutrition, and disease. Our precious environment is being devastated. In particular, the tropical rain forests, our richest resource, are being cut and burned at an alarming rate
Table of Contents
1: Introduction; 2: The Tropical Rain Forest: Our Distant Birthplace; 3: The Tropical Savanna; 4: The Temperate Forest; 5: The Northern Grasslands and Coniferous Forest; 6: The Tundra; 7: Hunters and Gatherers; 8: Pastoralism; 9: Agriculture and Pollution; 10: The City; 11: The Human Ecosystem: Past, Present, and Future
