Description
Book SynopsisExplains how the human head works, and why our heads evolved in this peculiarly human way. This book documents how the many components of the head function, how they evolved since we diverged from the apes, and how they interact in diverse ways both functionally and developmentally, causing them to be highly integrated.
Trade ReviewLieberman's integrated approach will make his book a forum for a way of thinking in human evolution that has not yet found its equal in print. -- Christopher Dean, University College London
This is an outstanding book. Lieberman draws from a wide variety of disciplines, including bone biology, embryology, morphometrics, functional anatomy, and paleontology to forge a masterful synthesis of the evolution of the human head. It will be the definitive reference for decades. * John G. Fleagle, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University *
Lieberman offers acute descriptions of anatomy, embryology, physiology, and hominid fossils, while providing an exciting way to observe the relationships among structures, functions, and evolutionary variance. -- Scott Vieira * Library Journal *
Lieberman dives deep into the cranium, showing just how much of what we consider to be human is connected to what happens above the neck. -- Carolyn Y. Johnson * Boston Globe *
Daniel Lieberman has written a wonderful and inspiring book about the human head's evolution...One stands in awe at the work that has gone into it...This encyclopedic book is transformative...The morphological details in Lieberman's book make it a direct descendant of
Gray's Anatomy...If a single word describes this book, it is integrative. The author integrates material from anatomy, physiology, physics, biomechanics, molecular and developmental biology, but brings all under the umbrella of evolutionary theory. -- Chris McManus * Times Higher Education *
This [is an] impressive book...This hefty and well-written book offers a scholarly breadth and attention to detail that are certainly laudable. The book is quite unusual in that it includes a comprehensive review of the soft tissues associated with cranial features and discusses them within the context of evolutionary morphology and the fossil record of the human skull. I can think of no other volume that packages the anatomy of the human head in this fashion...Lieberman's big book definitely moves us ahead in effectively synthesizing so much of what is currently understood about the structure, function and evolution of the human head. -- Brian T. Shea * American Scientist *
By rooting his study in the basics of tissue mechanics and functional morphology, Lieberman does the spadework to which all such studies aspire but few achieve--and makes that task seem elegant and effortless. -- Henry Gee * Nature *
Daniel Lieberman marshals diverse evidence to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding patterns of variation and covariation in the form, function, and phylogeny of the human head...The breadth and diversity of subject matter the volume will impart to the reader is particularly laudable. Lieberman's holistic approach is a welcome, if not requisite, strategy for addressing a multifarious biological system such as the human head. The book's focus on both hard- and soft-tissue components, consideration of how such elements correspond to one another, and comprehensive overview of external and internal influences on patterns of morphological variation and covariation clearly set the tone for how one might profitably investigate cranial evolution across all vertebrates. The introductions to myriad biological concepts, surveys of some modern approaches to outstanding paleoanthropological questions, and review of fossil evidence regarding evolutionary transformations in human skull form will enlighten readers of all backgrounds.
The Evolution of the Human Head is an entertaining read...It contains a wealth of information relevant to human evolution. In doing so, it offers a wonderful entrée into many of the outstanding issues that will undoubtedly remain at the center of debates regarding human origins for years to come. -- Matthew J. Ravosa * Science *
