Human Evolution Trails from the Past

by Cela-Conde, Camilo J.; Ayala, Francisco J.

• ISBN13: 9780198567806
• ISBN10: 0198567804
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Human Evolution provides a comprehensive overview of hominid evolution, synthesizing data and approaches from fields as diverse as physical anthropology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, genetics, archaeology, psychology, and philosophy. The book begins with chapters on evolution, population genetics, systematics, and the methods for constructing evolutionary trees. These are followed by a comprehensive review of the fossil history of human evolution since our divergence from the apes. Subsequent chapters cover more recent data, both fossil and molecular, relating to the evolution of modern humans. A final section describes the evolution of culture, language, art, and morality. The authors are leading experts in two complementary fields of scholarship: physical anthropology and molecular evolution. Throughout the book they successfully integrate their expertise in evolutionary theory, phylogenetics, genomics, cultural evolution, language, aesthetics, and morality to produce a cutting edge textbook, copiously illustrated and with an extensive and up-to-date bibliography. The text is suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate level students taking courses on human evolution within departments of biology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy. The book may also be of interest to a more general audience seeking a readable, up-to-date, and inclusive treatment of human origins and evolution.

Author Biography

Camilo J. Cela-Conde is Director of the Laboratory of Human Systematics and Professor at the University of Islas Baleares (Spain). He is a Fellow (elected 1999) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is author of two books on human evolution, plus a dozen more books on fiction, biography, essay, and science. He has published numerous articles in scientific journals, mostly related to anthropology and human evolution Francisco J. Ayala is University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science for 2001. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and of Academies of Science from Italy, Russia, Spain and other countries. He has received numerous awards and gold medals, as well as honorary degrees from six countries.

Table of Contents

Preface: Homo sapiens, the rational animal	p. vii
Evolution, genetics, and systematics	p. 1
The theory of evolution	p. 1
Population and evolutionary genetics	p. 9
The classification of living beings	p. 33
The evolution of hominoids	p. 44
Hominoid taxonomy	p. 44
Early Miocene hominoids	p. 54
Middle Miocene: the migration of apes out of Africa	p. 61
Late Miocene: the divergence of great apes	p. 70
The hominin lineage	p. 81
The origin of hominins	p. 81
Bipedal locomotion	p. 92
Miocene and Pliocene genera and species	p. 106
The first hominins	p. 106
Australopithecus	p. 117
Pliocene hominins: South Africa and the Rift Valley	p. 135
South African sites	p. 135
South African hominins of the Pliocene	p. 145
The "gracile" and "robust" alternatives in East Africa	p. 156
The Pliocene cladogenesis: Paranthropus versus Homo	p. 166
Evidence from Koobi Fora	p. 166
Alternatives in the evolution of robust and gracile clades	p. 181
The radiation of Homo	p. 194
Asian Homo erectus	p. 194
The erectus grade in Africa	p. 205
Evolutionary characteristics of the erectus grade	p. 216
Cultural patterns in the migration out of Africa	p. 216
The earliest cultures	p. 228
Homo in Europe	p. 241
The late-Pleistocene transition	p. 253
Archaic Homo sapiens	p. 253
Neanderthals	p. 271
Molecular data	p. 287
The origin of modern humans	p. 300
The uniqueness of being human	p. 314
Culture and mental traits during the late Paleolithic	p. 314
The origins of symbolism	p. 326
The origin of language	p. 339
The evolution of moral behavior	p. 353
Glossary	p. 367
References	p. 377
Index	p. 419
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