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 Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai written by Richard Potts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Download or read book Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai written by Richard Potts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Download or read book Ancestral Passions written by Virginia Morell and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-01-11 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography of the "First Family" of anthropology reveals how their discoveries, collaborations, and rivalries contributed to our own knowledge of the origins of humankind. In this fascinating and authoritative work, acclaimed science writer Virginia Morell brings to vivid life the famous and infamous Leakey family, pioneers in the field of paleoanthropology: Louis Leakey, the patriarch, who persisted through initial scientific failures and scandal-ridden divorce to achieve spectacular success in digs throughout East Africa; Mary, his second wife, who worked alongside Louis as they made their outstanding discoveries at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere; and Richard, their son, who ascended to the top of the field in his parents’ wake, only to be threatened with both near-fatal illness and fierce professional rivalry. Morell transports us into the world of these compelling personalities, demonstrating how a small clan of highly talented and fiercely competitive people came to dominate an entire field of science and to contribute immeasurably to our understanding of the origins of humanity.
Download or read book Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Africa N 33 written by Nuria Sanz and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2012 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uses examples of artistic work in all media in order to show how contemporary artists have adapted their vision in a manipulation of modern materials to satisfy mankind's needs for spiritual satisfaction through art.
Download or read book Hominid Sites Their Geologic Settings written by George Robert Rapp and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Human Evolution in China written by Xinzhi Wu and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive treatment of all the major human and ape fossils found in China. The book contains original analyses of a number of the fossils, and first-time translations of Chinese-language materials. Metric information is presented, to be used to compare with fossil samples from other parts of the world.
Download or read book Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Asia written by Sanz, Nuria and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2014-10-27 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Environmental Reconstruction of Four East African Hominid Sites from the Pliocene written by Deborah L. Fate and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book GIS Simulation of the Earliest Hominid Colonisation of Eurasia written by Kathryn Holmes and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to shed light on the 'Out of Africa' problem by approaching it from a different angle and proposing when during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene hominid migration was most feasible and along what pathways the migrations may have occured. It represents the first use of GIS to predict and model the potential migration pathways.
Download or read book Handbook of Paleoanthropology written by Winfried Henke and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-05-10 with total page 2069 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 Paleobiology written by Robert B. Eckhardt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000-09-28 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Paleobiology explores the adaptability and variation in past and present human populations under a range of changing environmental conditions. Using a historical approach emphasising phenotypic features instead of complex taxonomy, it will be a stimulating and challenging read for all those interested in human paleobiology, evolutionary biology and anthropology.
Download or read book Guide to Fossil Man written by Michael H. Day and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1986-10-15 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael H. Day's Guide to Fossil Man is the standard reference work on hominid remains found at the major palaeolithic sites throughout the world. This fourth edition now includes details of fifteen new sites, as well as new evidence from thirty-four previously known sites featured in earlier editions of the book. Day begins with an introduction to the anatomy of human fossils. He then describes the forty-nine sites in Europe, the Near East, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania that have yielded the most significant information on the development of hominid species and the appearance of early man. Grouped geographically, each site description includes data on the hominid remains, other finds such as tools and animal bones, the local geology and contemporary geomorphology and ecology, and dating and other references. Sites featured for the first time in this edition include Kow Swamp and Mungo in Australia; Dali and Maba in China; and West Turkana in Kenya, which contained the almost complete skeleton of a boy determined to be 1,600,000 years old. Short essays on problems associated with neandertal, australpithecine, and Homo erectus remains are included, as well as a glossary, a geological time scale, charts and comprehensive illustrations. Day's Guide to Fossil Man is invaluable not only for working palaeontologists, palaeolithic archaeologists, and physical anthropologists, but also for anyone interested in human evolution.
Download or read book Function Phylogeny and Fossils written by David R. Begun and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-21 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful new work, Function, Phylogeny, and Fossils integrates two practices in paleobiology which are often separated - functional and phylogenetic analysis. The book summarizes the evidence on paleoenvironments at the most important Miocene hominoid sites and relates it to the pertinent fossil record. The contributors present the most up-to-date statements on the functional anatomy and likely behavior of the best known hominoids of this crucial period of ape and human evolution. A key feature is a comprehensive table listing 240 characteristics among 13 genera of living and extinct hominoids.
Download or read book Perspectives on Hominid Behaviour and Settlement Patterns written by Shejiang Wang and published by British Archaeological Reports. This book was released on 2005 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study focuses on the Lower Palaeolithic archaeology of China. It examines early hominid adaptive behaviour based on the new evidence from the Luonan Basin, northern China. Unlike past Chinese Palaeolithic studies the study takes a regional approach emphasising the palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological, and taphonomic information brought together from studies of faunal remains, spatial analysis of stone artefacts and bones, and lithic artefact refitting studies. Detailed analyses consist of lithic typology and technology which is then compared at a regional and global scale. The study describes the regional setting, site formation processes, chronology, lithic assemblage raw materials and provides a typotechnological analysis of stone artefacts. The specific analyses reject the hypothesis of "two Palaeolithic cultural traditions" in North China, and strongly challenge the notion of the existence of the "Movius line". The Palaeolithic open-air sites and the Longyadong cave site were occupied by hominids co-existing under consistent ecological and environmental conditions for hundreds of thousands of years. The very distinctive lithic assemblages found separately in the open-air sites and cave site are interpreted as reflecting different site function and varied subsistence activities rather than different hominid groups living contemporaneously in the valley. It reflects adaptive behaviours that appear to be the precursor to fully modern human behavioural organization.
Download or read book Deconstructing Olduvai A Taphonomic Study of the Bed I Sites written by Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-07-05 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Olduvai Bed I archaeological sites have been at the epicenter of the debate on how early humans behaved. This book presents a new analytical approach that has produced unexpected results: the association of stone tools and faunal remains at most Olduvai Bed I sites is accidental and not related to hominid behavior. This revolutionary analysis shows that current models of reconstruction of human behavior are wrong.
Download or read book Hominid Sites written by G. V. Rapp and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
