Download or read book Evolutionary History of the Robust Australopithecines written by Frederick E. Grine and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-29 with total page 808 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In paleoanthropology the group of hominids known as the "robust" australopithecines has emerged as one of the most interesting. Through them we have the opportunity to examine the origin, natural history, and ultimate extinction of not just a single species, but of an entire branch in the hominid fossil record. It is generally agreed that the human lineage can be traced back to this group of comparatively small-brained, large-toothed creatures. This volume focuses on the evolutionary history of these early hominids with state-of-the-art contributions by leading international authorities in the field. Although a case can be made for a "robust" lineage, the functional and taxonomic implications of the morphological features are subject to vigorous disagreement. An area of lively debate is the possible causal relationship between the presence of early Homo and the origin, evolution, and virtual extinction of "robust" australopithecines.This volume summarizes what has been learned about the evolutionary history of the "robust" australopithecines in the 50 years since Robert Broom first encountered the visage of a new kind of ape-man from Kromdraai. New discoveries from Kromdraai to Lomekwi have served to keep us aware that the paleontological record for hominid evolution is hardly exhausted. Because of such finds no single volume can hope to stand as a summary on the "robust" australopithecines for very long, but this classic volume comes close to achieving this goal. The book sheds new light upon some old questions and also acts to provide new questions. The answers to those questions bring us closer to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the origins, evolution, and ultimate demise of the "robust" australopithecines. Since the "robust" australopithecines most likely stand as our closest relatives, a better understanding of their origin, history, and demise serves to provide heightened appreciation of the course of human evolution itself. This definitive volume addresses the questions and problems surrounding this important lineage.

Download or read book The Skull of Australopithecus Afarensis written by William H. Kimbel and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2004 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is the most in-depth account of the fossil skull anatomy and evolutionary significance of the 3.6-3.0 million year old early human species Australopithecus afarensis. Knowledge of this species is pivotal to understanding early human evolution, because 1) the sample of fossil remains of A. afarensis is among the most extensive for any early human species, and the majority of remains are of taxonomically inormative skulls and teeth; 2) the wealth of material makes A. afarensis an indispensable point of reference for the interpretation of other fossil discoveries; 3) the species occupies a time period that is the focus of current research to determine when, where, and why the human lineage first diversified into separate contemporaneous lines of descent. Upon publication of this book, this species will be among the most thoroughly documented extinct ancestors of humankind. The main focus of the book - its organizing principle - is the first complete skull of A. afarensis (specimen number A.L. 444-2) at the Hadar site, Ethiopia, the home of the remarkably complete 3.18 million year old skeleton known as Lucy, found at Hadar by third author D. Johanson in 1974. Lucy and other fossils from Hadar, together with those from the site of Laetoli in Tanzania, were controversially attributed to the then brand new species A. afarensis by Johanson, T. White and Y. Coppens in 1978. However, a complete skull, which would have quickly resolved much of the early debate over the species, proved elusive until second author Y. Rak's discovery of the 444 skull in 1992. The book details the comparative anatomy of the new skull (and the cast of its brain, analyzed by R. Holloway and M. Huan), as well as of other skull and dental finds recovered during the latest, ongoing field work at Hadar, and analyzes the evolutionary significance of A. afarensis in the context of other critically important discoveries of earliest humans made in recent years. In essence, it summarizes the state of knowledge about one of the central subjects of current paleoanthropological investigation.

Download or read book The History of Our Tribe written by Barbara Welker and published by Open SUNY Textbooks. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? Why do we differ from other animals? How do scientists trace and construct our evolutionary history? The Evolution of Our Tribe: Hominini provides answers to these questions and more. The book explores the field of paleoanthropology past and present. Beginning over 65 million years ago, Welker traces the evolution of our species, the environments and selective forces that shaped our ancestors, their physical and cultural adaptations, and the people and places involved with their discovery and study. It is designed as a textbook for a course on Human Evolution but can also serve as an introductory text for relevant sections of courses in Biological or General Anthropology or general interest. It is both a comprehensive technical reference for relevant terms, theories, methods, and species and an overview of the people, places, and discoveries that have imbued paleoanthropology with such fascination, romance, and mystery.

Download or read book Evolutionary History of the Robust Australopithecin written by F. Grine and published by . This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Understanding Climate s Influence on Human Evolution written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-04-17 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.

Download or read book An Introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy written by Leslie Aiello and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1990-01-28 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For students of Human Evolution the fossil evidence of skeletal remains is a prime source of information from which to reconstruct the form and lifestyle of the early hominids. But how is this evidence to be fully and properly used by students with little or no anatomical training? In this book an anthropologist and an anatomist have combined their skills to provide students and research workers with the essentials of anatomy and the means to apply these to investigations into hominid form and function. Armed with the basic principles and relevant bones conclusions can be reached regarding the probable musculature, stance, brain size, age, weight and sex of a particular fossil specimen. The sort of deductions which are possible are illustrated by reference back to contemporary apes and humans and a coherent picture of the history of hominid evolution emerges. Written in a clear and concise style and profusely illustrated, this book is a basic reference for all concerned with human evolution and a valuable companion both to laboratory practical sessions and to new research using fossil skeletons.

Download or read book Understanding Evolution of Man written by P. K. Seth and published by Gyan Publishing House. This book was released on 2003 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preface List of Figures List of Tables 1. Fossilisation Patterns of Social Organisation; Taphonomy; Dating Fossils; Methods; Direct Methods; Indirect Methods; Chronometric dating; Half-life; Relative Dating Procedures; Stratigraphy; Fluorine dating; Nitrogen dating; Uranium dating; Absolute Dating Techniques; Radiocarbon dating; Obsidian dating; Fission-track technique; Potassium-Argon dating: Material Used; Period; Thermoluminescence (TI); Palaeomagnetism Technique; Electron Spin Resonance Technique; Faunal Correlation Technique (Biostratigraphy); Dendrochronology; Amino Acid Racemization Technique. 2. Primate Radiation Primate Development; Early Tertiary Period; Miocene Epoch; Parapithecus; Propliopithecus; Limnopithecus; Pliopithecus; Prohylobates; Dryopithecinae; Dryopithecus; Ramapithecus; Rudapithecus hungaricus; Sugrivapithecus; Sivapithecus -- Sivapithecus sivalensis; Sivapithecus himalayensis; Gigantopithecus. 3. Australopithecines Australopithecus - East Africa; Early species; The Robust Australopithecines - The Gracile Australopithecines; Paranthropus. 4. Homo habilis Sites; Tool making capabilities; Social organisation. 5. Homo erectus Bodily Structure of Homo erectus; Origin of Homo erectus; Variations in Homo erectus; Transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens; Other Homo erectus Finds; Narmada Man Heidelberg Man (Homo Heidelbergensis); Asian Fossils; African Fossils; European Fossils; Behavioural Inferences; Evolutionary Implications; Gradualistic Views of the Transition to Homo sapiens; Alternative Modes of Species Change. 6. Neanderthal Man The Extinction of Neanderthal Man; Burials; Archaic and Modern Peoples; Physical Characteristics; PreNeanderthal Man (Early Homo sapiens) - Relationship between Neanderthal man and modern man. 7. Modern Men Cro-Magnon; Hunting Techniques; Place in Human Evolution; Culture; Eyziea-de-Tayac Caves; The Tautavel Man; Swanscombe Man; Steinheim Man. 8. Human Evolution The Antiquity of Homo sapiens; Structure of Homo sapiens; Evolution of the Human Skull. 9. Human Origins Dating; African Eve Hypothesis; Ancient Africans, Whose Ancestors?; Early Dispersal and Homo sapiens; Genetic Evidence for Modern Human Origins; The Story of how we became man; Split from the Apes; The Earliest Humans; Modern Humans; The End of Evolution?; Man; But were the CroMagnon Africans?; Cultural Evidence for Modern Human Origins; Rethinking? 10. Molecular Clock Chromosomal Evolution; Chromosomal Homology; DNA; Gene Mapping. 11. Palaeodemography Methodology; Sexing; Ageing; Parity and Weaning Age; Population Size Estimates; Mortality Patterns; Growth; Disease, Diet and Demography; Australopithecus; Homo Habilis; Neanderthals. 12. Palaeopathology Neanderthal Man; Bone Tumour; General. Literature Cited Index

Download or read book The Human Evolution Source Book written by Russell L. Ciochon and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: M->CREATED

Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Download or read book African Genesis written by Sally C. Reynolds and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-29 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews key themes and developments in palaeoanthropology, exploring their impact on our understanding of human origins in Africa.

Download or read book Ancestors written by Donald C. Johanson and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A world-renowned paleoanthropologist and author of Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind, Donald Johanson attempts to solve the mystery of human evolution using new evidence uncovered on his recent forays into the fossil-rich regions of Eastern Africa. Companion volume to the upcoming Nova series. 175 illus. Maps.

Download or read book Anthropological Perspectives on Tooth Morphology written by G. Richard Scott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-21 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This follow-up to The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth puts methods to use in interpreting human origins and affinities.

Download or read book Handbook of Paleoanthropology written by Winfried Henke and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-10 with total page 2057 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 3-volume handbook brings together contributions by the world ́s leading specialists that reflect the broad spectrum of modern palaeoanthropology, thus presenting an indispensable resource for professionals and students alike. Vol. 1 reviews principles, methods, and approaches, recounting recent advances and state-of-the-art knowledge in phylogenetic analysis, palaeoecology and evolutionary theory and philosophy. Vol. 2 examines primate origins, evolution, behaviour, and adaptive variety, emphasizing integration of fossil data with contemporary knowledge of the behaviour and ecology of living primates in natural environments. Vol. 3 deals with fossil and molecular evidence for the evolution of Homo sapiens and its fossil relatives.

Download or read book Human Evolution A Very Short Introduction written by Bernard Wood and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-06-27 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of human evolution is advancing rapidly. Newly discovered fossil evidence is adding ever more pieces to the puzzle of our past, whilst revolutionary technological advances in the study of ancient DNA are completely reshaping theories of early human populations and migrations. In this Very Short Introduction Bernard Wood traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the very latest fossil finds. In this new edition he discusses how Ancient DNA studies have revolutionized how we view the recent (post-550 ka) human evolution, and the process of speciation. The combination of ancient and modern human DNA has contributed to discoveries of new taxa, as well as the suggestion of 'ghost' taxa whose fossil records still remain to be discovered. Considering the contributions of related sciences such as paleoclimatology, geochronology, systematics, genetics, and developmental biology, Wood explores our latest understandings of our own evolution. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Download or read book Evolution written by Donald R. Prothero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 891 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donald R. Prothero’s Evolution is an entertaining and rigorous history of the transitional forms and series found in the fossil record. Its engaging narrative of scientific discovery and well-grounded analysis has led to the book’s widespread adoption in courses that teach the nature and value of fossil evidence for evolution. Evolution tackles systematics and cladistics, rock dating, neo-Darwinism, and macroevolution. It includes extensive coverage of the primordial soup, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the transformation from early hominid to modern human. The book also details the many alleged “missing links” in the fossil record, including some of the most recent discoveries that flesh out the fossil timeline and the evolutionary process. In this second edition, Prothero describes new transitional fossils from various periods, vividly depicting such bizarre creatures as the Odontochelys, or the “turtle on the half shell”; fossil snakes with legs; and the “Frogamander,” a new example of amphibian transition. Prothero’s discussion of intelligent design arguments includes more historical examples and careful examination of the “experiments” and observations that are exploited by creationists seeking to undermine sound science education. With new perspectives, Prothero reframes creationism as a case study in denialism and pseudoscience rather than a field with its own intellectual dynamism. The first edition was hailed as an exemplary exploration of the fossil evidence for evolution, and this second edition will be welcome in the libraries of scholars, teachers, and general readers who stand up for sound science in this post-truth era.

Download or read book Tempo and Mode in Evolution written by for the National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-02-09 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since George Gaylord Simpson published Tempo and Mode in Evolution in 1944, discoveries in paleontology and genetics have abounded. This volume brings together the findings and insights of today's leading experts in the study of evolution, including Ayala, W. Ford Doolittle, and Stephen Jay Gould. The volume examines early cellular evolution, explores changes in the tempo of evolution between the Precambrian and Phanerozoic periods, and reconstructs the Cambrian evolutionary burst. Long-neglected despite Darwin's interest in it, species extinction is discussed in detail. Although the absence of data kept Simpson from exploring human evolution in his book, the current volume covers morphological and genetic changes in human populations, contradicting the popular claim that all modern humans descend from a single woman. This book discusses the role of molecular clocks, the results of evolution in 12 populations of Escherichia coli propagated for 10,000 generations, a physical map of Drosophila chromosomes, and evidence for "hitchhiking" by mutations.

Download or read book The Paleobiology of Australopithecus written by Kaye E. Reed and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-15 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Australopithecus africanus, in 1925. This volume synthesizes the geological and paleontological context of the species in East and South Africa; covers individual sites, such as Dikika, Hadar, Sterkfontein, and Malapa; debates the alpha taxonomy of some of the species; and addresses questions regarding the movements of the species across the continent. Additional chapters discuss the genus in terms of sexual dimorphism, diet reconstruction using microwear and isotopic methodologies, postural and locomotor behavior, and ontogeny.