The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human

by Tattersall, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780198515692
• ISBN10: 0198515693
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-07
• Publisher: Gardners Books
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Summary

The fundamental questions of our origins, along with our evolutionary future, find new life in this extraordinary book. In this superb collection of essays, eminent scientist, Ian Tattersall takes up some of the most controversial questions in evolutionary history. He argues that far from being finely engineered organisms, we are in fact improvised beings, owing as much to chance as adaptation. Tattersall leads us around the world and into the far reaches of the past, and reveals the complexities of the science of human evolution.

Author Biography

Ian Tattersall is curator of human evolution at the American Museum of Natural History and the author of many books and articles. His most recent book. Becoming Human, won the distinguished W. W. Howells Prize of the American Anthropological Association. An expert on both fossil humans and lemurs, he has done fieldwork in places as varied as Madagascar, Yemen, and Vietnam. He lives in New York City

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
What's So Special about Science?	p. 1
Evolution: Why So Misunderstood?	p. 29
The Monkey in the Mirror	p. 56
Human Evolution and the Art of Climbing Trees	p. 79
The Enigmatic Neanderthals	p. 107
How Did We Achieve Humanity?	p. 138
Written in Our Genes?	p. 169
Where Now?	p. 185
Index	p. 205
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