Download or read book Processes in Human Evolution written by Francisco José Ayala and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated and rewritten version of first edition, published under title: Human evolution: trails from the past (Oxford biology) / Camilo J. Cela-Conde and Francisco J. Ayala. 2007.
Download or read book Human Evolution written by Cela-Conde & Ayala and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Human Evolution written by Steven J. C. Gaulin and published by . This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Evolution: Processes and Adaptations is designed for introductory courses in biological anthropology. The book develops the theory and methods of the modern evolutionist and, with many clear examples, shows how to apply them to make sense of the biological traits that define our species. Featuring a scientific, issue-oriented perspective on human evolution - how it works, what it can and cannot do, and what it reveals about human nature - this textbook uses engaging analogies to make current research accessible to beginning students. This fourth edition includes new or expanded chapters on fossils and on genetics. More than a mere survey of the requisite topics, this book weaves the threads of natural selection, genetics, adaptation, speciation, classification, fossils, and human behavior into a coherent picture where each element usefully illuminates the others. In an approachable 250 pages, students learn not just the subject matter of biological anthropology, but acquire an evolutionary tool kit they can use to explore any biological question. Use of this tool kit is modeled through analyses that are of topical interest to the students, such as sex and sexuality. Human Evolution is a fresh, stand-alone text with key concepts depicted in more than 90 illustrations, and is designed to stimulate instructors and students alike. Prerecorded video lectures are available for each chapter of the book. Steven J. C. Gaulin earned his Ph.D. in biological anthropology at Harvard University, and is currently a professor in the Integrative Anthropological Sciences Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Gaulin has authored more than 100 scholarly articles, served for a decade as editor-in-chief of Evolution and Human Behavior, and recently won his university's highest teaching award.
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 Becoming Human written by Ian Tattersall and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1999 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the evolution of humankind--who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.
Download or read book Culture and the Evolutionary Process written by Robert Boyd and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1988-06-15 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors combine to change societies over the long run? Boyd and Richerson explore how genetic and cultural factors interact, under the influence of evolutionary forces, to produce the diversity we see in human cultures. Using methods developed by population biologists, they propose a theory of cultural evolution that is an original and fair-minded alternative to the sociobiology debate.
Download or read book Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture written by Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete account of evolutionary thought in the social, environmental and policy sciences, creating bridges with biology.
Download or read book Human Evolution written by Camilo J. Cela-Conde and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-27 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended as a comprehensive overview of hominid evolution, synthesising data and approaches from physical anthropology, genetics, archaeology, psychology and philosophy. Human evolution courses are now widespread and this book has the potential to satisfy the requirements of most, particularly at the advanced undergraduate and graduate level. It is based on a translation, albeit with substantial modification, of a successful Spanish language book.
Download or read book Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution written by Stephen Shennan and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers an integrative approach to the application of evolutionary theory in studies of cultural transmission and social evolution and reveals the enormous range of ways in which Darwinian ideas can lead to productive empirical research, the touchstone of any worthwhile theoretical perspective. While many recent works on cultural evolution adopt a specific theoretical framework, such as dual inheritance theory or human behavioral ecology, Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution emphasizes empirical analysis and includes authors who employ a range of backgrounds and methods to address aspects of culture from an evolutionary perspective. Editor Stephen Shennan has assembled archaeologists, evolutionary theorists, and ethnographers, whose essays cover a broad range of time periods, localities, cultural groups, and artifacts.
Download or read book Human Origins written by and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes how mapping the human genome has aided paleoanthropologists in their study of ancient bones used to explore human origins, from the earliest humans--bipedal apes--up to Martin Pickford's Millennium Man.
Download or read book Principles of Human Evolution written by Robert Andrew Foley and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-05-03 with total page 1027 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Principles of Human Evolution presents an in-depth introduction to paleoanthropology and the study of human evolution. Focusing on the fundamentals of evolutionary theory and how these apply to ecological, molecular genetic, paleontological and archeological approaches to important questions in the field, this timely textbook will help students gain a perspective on human evolution in the context of modern biological thinking. The second edition of this successful text features the addition of Robert Foley, a leading researcher in Human Evolutionary Studies, to the writing team. Strong emphasis on evolutionary theory, ecology and behavior and scores of new examples reflect the latest evolutionary theories and recent archaeological finds. More than a simple update, the new edition is organized by issue rather than chronology, integrating behavior, adaptation and anatomy. A new design and new figure references make this edition more accessible for students and instructors. New author, Robert Foley – leading figure in Human Evolutionary Studies – joins the writing team. Dedicated website – www.blackwellpublishing.com/lewin – provides study resources and artwork downloadable for Powerpoint presentations. Beyond the Facts boxes – explore key scientific debates in greater depth. Margin Comments – indicate the key points in each section. Key Questions – review and test students’ knowledge of central chapter concepts and help focus the way a student approaches reading the text. New emphasis on ecological and behavioral evolution – in keeping with modern research. Fully up to date with recent fossil finds and interpretations; integration of genetic and paleoanthropological approaches.
Download or read book Apes and Human Evolution written by Russell H. Tuttle and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-17 with total page 1089 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this masterwork, Russell H. Tuttle synthesizes a vast research literature in primate evolution and behavior to explain how apes and humans evolved in relation to one another, and why humans became a bipedal, tool-making, culture-inventing species distinct from other hominoids. Along the way, he refutes the influential theory that men are essentially killer apes—sophisticated but instinctively aggressive and destructive beings. Situating humans in a broad context, Tuttle musters convincing evidence from morphology and recent fossil discoveries to reveal what early primates ate, where they slept, how they learned to walk upright, how brain and hand anatomy evolved simultaneously, and what else happened evolutionarily to cause humans to diverge from their closest relatives. Despite our genomic similarities with bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas, humans are unique among primates in occupying a symbolic niche of values and beliefs based on symbolically mediated cognitive processes. Although apes exhibit behaviors that strongly suggest they can think, salient elements of human culture—speech, mating proscriptions, kinship structures, and moral codes—are symbolic systems that are not manifest in ape niches. This encyclopedic volume is both a milestone in primatological research and a critique of what is known and yet to be discovered about human and ape potential.
Download or read book Not By Genes Alone written by Peter J. Richerson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-06-20 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth using an incredible variety of tools and subsistence techniques. Our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal's. In this stunning exploration of human adaptation, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics. Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd illustrate here that culture is neither superorganic nor the handmaiden of the genes. Rather, it is essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics—and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, corporations, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them—Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked, and they show us how to think about their interaction in a way that yields a richer understanding of human nature. In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and groundbreaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come. “I continue to be surprised by the number of educated people (many of them biologists) who think that offering explanations for human behavior in terms of culture somehow disproves the suggestion that human behavior can be explained in Darwinian evolutionary terms. Fortunately, we now have a book to which they may be directed for enlightenment . . . . It is a book full of good sense and the kinds of intellectual rigor and clarity of writing that we have come to expect from the Boyd/Richerson stable.”—Robin Dunbar, Nature “Not by Genes Alone is a valuable and very readable synthesis of a still embryonic but very important subject straddling the sciences and humanities.”—E. O. Wilson, Harvard University
Download or read book Evolution written by Brian Charlesworth and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is about the central role of evolution in shaping the nature and diversity of the living world. It describes the processes of natural selection, how adaptations arise, and how new species form, as well as summarizing the evidence for evolution
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 Niche Construction written by F. John Odling-Smee and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The seemingly innocent observation that the activities of organisms bring about changes in environments is so obvious that it seems an unlikely focus for a new line of thinking about evolution. Yet niche construction--as this process of organism-driven environmental modification is known--has hidden complexities. By transforming biotic and abiotic sources of natural selection in external environments, niche construction generates feedback in evolution on a scale hitherto underestimated--and in a manner that transforms the evolutionary dynamic. It also plays a critical role in ecology, supporting ecosystem engineering and influencing the flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. Despite this, niche construction has been given short shrift in theoretical biology, in part because it cannot be fully understood within the framework of standard evolutionary theory. Wedding evolution and ecology, this book extends evolutionary theory by formally including niche construction and ecological inheritance as additional evolutionary processes. The authors support their historic move with empirical data, theoretical population genetics, and conceptual models. They also describe new research methods capable of testing the theory. They demonstrate how their theory can resolve long-standing problems in ecology, particularly by advancing the sorely needed synthesis of ecology and evolution, and how it offers an evolutionary basis for the human sciences. Already hailed as a pioneering work by some of the world's most influential biologists, this is a rare, potentially field-changing contribution to the biological sciences.
Download or read book Tales of the Ex Apes written by Jonathan Marks and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do we think about when we think about human evolution? With his characteristic wit and wisdom, anthropologist Jonathan Marks explores our scientific narrative of human origins—the study of evolution—and examines its cultural elements and theoretical foundations. In the process, he situates human evolution within a general anthropological framework and presents it as a special case of kinship and mythology. Tales of the Ex-Apes argues that human evolution has incorporated the emergence of social relations and cultural histories that are unprecedented in the apes and thus cannot be reduced to purely biological properties and processes. Marks shows that human evolution has involved the transformation from biological to biocultural evolution. Over tens of thousands of years, new social roles—notably spouse, father, in-laws, and grandparents—have co-evolved with new technologies and symbolic meanings to produce the human species, in the absence of significant biological evolution. We are biocultural creatures, Marks argues, fully comprehensible by recourse to neither our real ape ancestry nor our imaginary cultureless biology.
