Principles of Human Evolution

by Foley, Robert Andrew; Lewin, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780632047048
• ISBN10: 0632047046
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-12-30
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

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 molecular genetics 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.

Author Biography

Roger Lewin is an Associate of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. He is the author of half a dozen books on human origin research, three of which he co-authored with world-famous anthropologist Richard Leakey, as well as the author of the prize-winning Bones of Contention.

Robert A. Foley is the Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of King’s College. He is the author of numerous articles and books on human evolution, including Another Unique Species (1987) and Humans before Humanity (1995). His research has focused on the links between human evolution and ecological and evolutionary mechanisms.

Table of Contents

Preface for students: a guide to studying human evolution	viii
Acknowledgments	xi
PART 1 THE FRAMEWORK OF HUMAN EVOLUTION	1	(192)
The growth of the evolutionary perspective	3	(24)
Our place in nature	3	(6)
Establishing the link between humans and apes: historical views	9	(7)
Human evolution as narrative and as explanation	16	(11)
The principles of evolutionary theory	27	(19)
The fundamentals of evolutionary theory	27	(7)
Modern evolutionary theory: the development of Neo-Darwinism and the power of natural selection	34	(12)
Pattern and process in evolution	46	(38)
From micro-to macroevolution: debates in modern evolutionary theory	46	(9)
The physical context of evolution	55	(18)
Extinction and patterns of evolution	73	(11)
The geological context	84	(17)
Dating methods	84	(10)
The science of burial	94	(7)
The systematic context	101	(25)
Systematics	101	(15)
Molecular systematics	116	(10)
Human evolution in comparative perspective	126	(38)
Primate heritage	127	(13)
The comparative perspective	140	(3)
Bodies, size, and shape	143	(11)
Bodies, brains, and energy	154	(10)
Reconstructing behavior	164	(29)
Bodies, behavior, and social structure	164	(9)
Non-human models of early hominin behavior	173	(11)
Jaws and teeth	184	(9)
PART 2 EARLY HOMININ EVOLUTION	193	(170)
Apes, hominins, and humans: morphology, molecules, and fossils	195	(33)
Morphology and molecules: a history of conflict	196	(16)
Evolution of the catarrhines: the context of hominin origin	212	(16)
Searching for the first hominins	228	(27)
The earliest hominins	228	(12)
Bipedalism	240	(15)
The apelike hominins	255	(29)
The australopithecines	255	(29)
Origins of Homo	284	(24)
The genus Homo	284	(12)
Hominin relationships	296	(12)
Behavior and evolution of early hominins	308	(23)
Early tool technologies	308	(12)
The pattern of early hominin evolution	320	(11)
Africa and beyond: the evolution of Homo	331	(32)
Evolutionary patterns	332	(14)
New technologies	346	(5)
Hunter or scavenger?	351	(12)
PART 3 LATER HOMININ EVOLUTION	363	(150)
The origin of modern humans: background and fossil evidence	365	(35)
Background for the evolution of modern humans	366	(6)
Competing hypotheses for modern human origins	372	(3)
Chronological evidence	375	(2)
The question of regional continuity	377	(17)
The place of Neanderthals in human evolution	394	(6)
The origin of modern humans: genetic evidence	400	(22)
The impact of molecular evolutionary genetics	400	(9)
Recent developments	409	(13)
The origin of modern humans: archeology, behavior, and evolutionary process	422	(25)
Archeological evidence	423	(8)
Regional patterns in the archeology	431	(9)
Toward an integrated model of modern human origins	440	(7)
Evolution of the brain, intelligence, and culture	447	(17)
Encephalization	448	(10)
Cultural evolution	458	(6)
Language and symbolism	464	(24)
The evolution of language	464	(10)
Art in prehistory	474	(14)
New worlds, old worlds	488	(25)
Completing colonization	490	(10)
The first villagers	500	(10)
The human evolutionary heritage	510	(3)
References	513	(19)
Index	532