The newly revised and thoroughly updated standard source for mastering the human fossil record. This new edition of The Human Lineage is the best and most current guide to the morphological, geological, paleontological, and archeological evidence for the story of human evolution. This comprehensive textbook presents the history, methods, and issues of paleoanthropology through detailed analyses of the major fossils of interest to practicing scientists in the field. It will help both advanced students and practicing professionals to become involved with the lively scholarly debates that mark the field of human-origins research. Its clear and engaging chapters contain concise explanatory text and hundreds of high-quality illustrations. This thoroughly revised second edition reflects the most recent fossil discoveries and scientific analyses, offering new sections on the locomotor adaptations of Miocene hominoids, the taxonomic distinctiveness of Homo heidelbergensis, the Burtele foot, Ardipithecus, and Neandertal genomics. Updated and expanded chapters offer fresh insights on topics such as the origins of bipedality and the anatomy and evolution of early mammals and primates. Written and illustrated by established leaders in the field, The Human Lineage Provides the background needed to study human evolution, including dating techniques, mechanics of evolution, and primate adaptations Covers the major stages in human evolution with emphasis on important fossils and their implications Offers a balanced critical assessment of conflicting ideas about key events in human evolution Includes an extensive bibliography and appendices on biological nomenclature and craniometrics Covering the entire story of human evolution from its Precambrian beginnings to the emergence of modern humanity, The Human Lineage is indispensable reading for all advanced students of biological anthropology.

This book summarizes the work of several decades, culminating in a revolutionary model of recent human evolution. It challenges current consensus views fundamentally, presenting in its support a mass of evidence, much of which has never been assembled before. This evidence derives primarily from archaeology, paleoanthropology, genetics, clinical psychology, neurosciences, linguistics and cognitive sciences. No even remotely similar thesis of recent human origins has ever been published, but some of the key elements of this book have been published by the author in major refereed journals in the last two years. Its implications are far-reaching and profoundly affect the way we perceive ourselves as a species. This book about what it means to be human is heavily referenced, with a bibliography of many hundreds of scientific entries.

Taking us on an incredible journey across centuries and galaxies, accompanied by his characteristic wit, Professor Luke O'Neill explains how it all began, how it all will end and everything in between. Readers will benefit from Luke's insatiable curiosity for life when they dive into this ultimate journey through life and death. Among many fascinating facts, you'll discover the science behind how we got to be so smart, why sex with a caveman was a good idea, the science of finding love, why we follow religions, and how robots will become part of everyday life. Humanology is a humbling reminder that we're just a small speck in a big universe - so sit back and embrace the adventure. 'A man who can explain 4.2 billion years of life on Earth and make me laugh at the same time - sheer genius.' Pat Kenny, Newstalk

Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish is the unexpected story of how one creature's journey out of the water made the human body what it is today - and one man's voyage of discovery in search of our origins. Have you ever wondered why our bodies look and work and fail the way they do? One of the world's leading experts in evolutionary history, Neil Shubin reveals the secrets of our biology: why if we want to understand our limbs we should take a close look at Tiktaalik, the first fish capable of doing a push-up; why if we want to know why we hiccup, the answer is in the way fish breathe; and why it is that fish teeth are surprisingly similar to human breasts. 'This would be Darwin's book of the year' Sunday Telegraph 'An intelligent, exhilarating, and compelling scientific adventure story' Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat 'Delightful ... his enthusiasm is infectious' Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics 'Profoundly fascinating ... a magisterial work ... expressed so clearly and with such good humour' Financial Times 'Will make you think about your organs in ways you have never considered before' Sunday Times Neil Shubin is a palaeontologist in the great tradition of his mentors, Ernst Mayr and Stephen Jay Gould. He has discovered fossils around the world that have changed the way we think about many of the key transitions in evolution and has pioneered a new synthesis of expeditionary palaeontology, developmental genetics and genomics. He trained at Columbia, Harvard and Berkeley and is currently Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Chicago.

Applying his controversial theory of evolution to the origins of the human species, Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man was the culmination of his life's work. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction by James Moore and Adrian Desmond. In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin refused to discuss human evolution, believing the subject too 'surrounded with prejudices'. He had been reworking his notes since the 1830s, but only with trepidation did he finally publish The Descent of Man in 1871. The book notoriously put apes in our family tree and made the races one family, diversified by 'sexual selection' - Darwin's provocative theory that female choice among competing males leads to diverging racial characteristics. Named by Sigmund Freud as 'one of the ten most significant books' ever written, Darwin's Descent of Man continues to shape the way we think about what it is that makes us uniquely human. In their introduction, James Moore and Adrian Desmond, acclaimed biographers of Charles Darwin, call for a radical re-assessment of the book, arguing that its core ideas on race were fired by Darwin's hatred of slavery. The text is the second and definitive edition and this volume also contains suggestions for further reading, a chronology and biographical sketches of prominent individuals mentioned. Charles Darwin (1809-82), a Victorian scientist and naturalist, has become one of the most famous figures of science to date. The advent of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859 challenged and contradicted all contemporary biological and religious beliefs. If you enjoyed The Descent of Man, you might like Darwin's On the Origin of Species, also available in Penguin Classics.

Comparative analyses of the anatomy, reproductive physiology, and behaviour of extant primates and other mammals can offer important insights into the origins of human sexual behaviour, allowing us to reconstruct the origins of human mating systems, the evolution of sexual attractiveness, patterns of mate choice, and copulatory behaviour.
Sexual Selection and the Origins of Human Mating Systems provides a modern synthesis of research on the evolution of human mating systems, bringing together work on reproductive physiology, behavioural biology, anthropology, primatology, palaeontology, evolutionary psychology, and sexological research. The approach taken is genuinely cross-disciplinary in scope, and provides a fascinating account of the effects of sexual selection upon human evolution in the light of the latest advances in the field.

John Dupré warns that our understanding of human nature is being distorted by two faulty and harmful forms of pseudo-scientific thinking. Not just in the academic world but increasingly in everyday life, we find one set of experts seeking to explain the ends at which humans aim in terms of evolutionary theory, and another set of experts using economic models to give rules of how we act to achieve those ends. Dupré demonstrates that these theorists' explanations do not work, and furthermore that if taken seriously their theories tend to have dangerous social and political consequences. For these reasons, it is important to resist scientism - an exaggerated conception of what science can be expected to do for us. Dupré restores sanity to the study of human nature by pointing the way to a proper understanding of humans in the societies that are our natural and necessary environments. Anyone interested in science and human nature will enjoy this book, unless they are its targets.

The leading scholars in the rapidly growing field of language evolution give readable accounts of their theories on the origins of language and reflect on the most important current issues and debates. As well as providing a guide to their own published research in this area they highlight what they see as the most relevant research of others. The authors come from a wide range of disciplines involved in language evolution including linguistics, cognitive science, computational science, primatology, and archaeology.

The Thrive in Bioscience revision guides are written to help students achieve exam success in all core areas of bioscience. Each title encourages the reader to follow four steps to maximise their learning, with features to support this process. Step one: Review the facts The revision guides are designed to help learning be quick and effective: * Information is set out in bullet points, making it easy to digest * Clear, uncluttered illustrations illuminate what is said in the text * Key concept panels summarise the essential learning points Step two: Check your understanding Readers are encouraged to: * Complete the questions at the end of chapters and online multiple-choice questions to reinforce their learning * Use the flashcard app to master the essential terms and phrases Step three: Take note of extra advice Revision tips, and hints for getting those precious extra marks in exams, are presented throughout. Step four: Go the extra mile Readers can explore the suggestions for further reading to take their understanding one step further. Each title in the series is tailored to maximise understanding and achievement, to ensure that the reader really can thrive in their studies. They are the perfect course companions for any bioscience degree. Each title in the series is accompanied by the following digital resources: A flashcard glossary app, enabling the user to test their understanding of key terminology; A bank of interactive MCQs, giving users a hands-on way to check they have fully understood the concepts presented.

This is a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research. It gives a sense of how neuroscience addresses questions about the relationship between the brain, and thought, memories, perceptions, and actions.

Ambitious and elegant, this book builds a bridge between evolutionary theory and cultural psychology. Michael Tomasello is one of the very few people to have done systematic research on the cognitive capacities of both nonhuman primates and human children. "The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition" identifies what the differences are, and suggests where they might have come from.

Tomasello argues that the roots of the human capacity for symbol-based culture, and the kind of psychological development that takes place within it, are based in a cluster of uniquely human cognitive capacities that emerge early in human ontogeny. These include capacities for sharing attention with other persons; for understanding that others have intentions of their own; and for imitating, not just what someone else does, but what someone else has intended to do. In his discussions of language, symbolic representation, and cognitive development, Tomasello describes with authority and ingenuity the "ratchet effect" of these capacities working over evolutionary and historical time to create the kind of cultural artifacts and settings within which each new generation of children develops. He also proposes a novel hypothesis, based on processes of social cognition and cultural evolution, about what makes the cognitive representations of humans different from those of other primates.

Lucid, erudite, and passionate, "The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition" will be essential reading for developmental psychology, animal behavior, and cultural psychology.

Published by Sinauer Associates, an imprint of Oxford University Press. We are a highly visual species. Most of our information about the world comes to us through our eyes and most of our cultural and intellectual heritage is stored and transmitted as words and images to which our vision gives access and meaning. Knowing more about our eyes and vision is, therefore, one path to better understanding ourselves. And, as it happens, the human eye is a fairly representative vertebrate eye; knowing more about it tells us much about the eyes of other animals and about how they view the world and us. In more practical terms, a better understanding of the human eye allows us to intervene more intelligently and purposefully as we attempt to correct, modify, or ameliorate disorders of the eye brought on by trauma, disease, or senescence. Understanding the eye requires an exploration of the relationship between its structure and its function-that is, a consideration not only of how the eye and its parts are constructed, but also of what they do and how they work. Thus, this book considers both the structure and the function of the human eye and how they are related, often using functional issues as a guide to the most meaningful and important features of the anatomy. Limited use of technical terms from the various disciplines that relate to the eye, definitions of terms as they are used, a glossary, and suggestions for additional reading are all included to make the text accessible to readers for whom the subject is new. Boxes interspersed throughout the text discuss methods used to study the structure of the eye and surgical procedures used to alter its structure in beneficial ways. In addition to the main theme of structure and function, several subthemes make the general point, in different ways, that the eye and our understanding of it are dynamic and changing. Change on a geological timescale is represented by the evolutionary history of eyes generally and the human eye's place among the diversity of eyes in the animal kingdom; these issues are discussed in the Prologue. Change within a human lifetime begins with a chapter about the early stages of development in utero, continues throughout the book with the developmental histories of different parts of the eye, and concludes, in the Epilogue, with accounts of postnatal growth, maturation, and senescence. Change throughout human history in the way we have understood our eyes is another story, fragments of which are contained in a series of "vignettes" about some of the people and ideas that have influenced human thought about the eye over the past several thousand years. The Human Eye: Structure and Function appeals to a wide audience, including all scientists who are interested in the eye and in vision; optometrists and ophthalmologists; and optometry students and ophthalmology residents.

HUMAN HEREDITY, 9e, International Edition presents the concepts underlying human genetics in clear, concise language and provides relevant examples that you can apply to yourself, your family, and your work environment. Author Michael Cummings explains the origin, nature, and amount of genetic diversity present in the human population and how that diversity has been shaped by natural selection. The artwork and accompanying media visually support the material by teaching rather than merely illustrating the ideas under discussion. Examining the social, cultural, and ethical implications associated with the use of genetic technology, Cummings prepares you to become a well-informed consumer of genetic-based health care services or provider of health care services.

What is epidemiology? What are the causes of a new disease? How can pandemics be prevented? Epidemiology is the study of the changing patterns of disease and its main aim is to improve the health of populations. It's a vital field, central to the health of society, to the identification of causes of disease, and to their management and prevention. Epidemiology has had an impact on many areas of medicine; from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to the origin and spread of new epidemics. However, it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction Rodolfo Saracci dispels some of the myths surrounding the study of epidemiology. He provides a general explanation of the principles behind clinical trials, and explains the nature of basic statistics concerning disease. He also looks at the ethical and political issues related to obtaining and using information concerning patients, and trials involving placebos. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A savory account of how the pursuit of delicious foods shaped human evolution Nature, it has been said, invites us to eat by appetite and rewards by flavor. But what exactly are flavors? Why are some so pleasing while others are not? Delicious is a supremely entertaining foray into the heart of such questions. With generous helpings of warmth and wit, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez offer bold new perspectives on why food is enjoyable and how the pursuit of delicious flavors has guided the course of human history. They consider the role that flavor may have played in the invention of the first tools, the extinction of giant mammals, the evolution of the world's most delicious and fatty fruits, the creation of beer, and our own sociality. Along the way, you will learn about the taste receptors you didn't even know you had, the best way to ferment a mastodon, the relationship between Paleolithic art and cheese, and much more. Blending irresistible storytelling with the latest science, Delicious is a deep history of flavor that will transform the way you think about human evolution and the gustatory pleasures of the foods we eat.

Our sense of smell - or olfaction as it is technically known - is our most enigmatic sense. It can conjure up memories, taking us back to very specific places and emotions, whilst powerful smells can induce strong feelings of hunger or nausea. In the animal kingdom smell can be used to find food, a mate, or a home; to sense danger; and to send and receive complex messages with other members of a species. Yet despite its fundamental importance in our mental life and in the existence of all animals, our scientific understanding of how smell works is limited. In this Very Short Introduction, Matthew Cobb describes the latest scientific research on smell in humans and other mammals, in insects, and even in fish. He looks at how smell evolved, how animals use it to navigate and communicate, and disorders of smell in humans. Understanding smell, especially its neurobiology, has proved a big challenge, but olfactory science has revealed genetic factors that determine what we can and cannot smell, and why some people like a given smell while others find it unbearable. He ends by considering future treatments for smell disorders, and speculating on the role of smell in a world of robots. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? In "Why Sex Matters," Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics, to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so, but that sometimes cooperation and collaboration are the most effective ways to succeed.

This newly revised edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest research and reflect exciting changes in the field, including how our evolutionary past continues to affect our ecological present.

From the moment it first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied the human mind: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Artists (notably Paul Gauguin), religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives about the Tree of Life and our location on one of its branches. The knowledge thus gleaned allows them to draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, our future, and the ethical implications of the changed perspective.

Immunology offers the most contemporary perspective on the science available, providing a clear, easy-to-follow introduction to the discipline suitable for undergraduate students. In a course where students often get lost in vast amounts of detail and the sheer complexity of the immune response, Immunology helps students see "the big picture" with an approachable narrative that presents the exquisite details of immunology while emphasizing the connections between key themes that students so often lose sight of when learning the material. Immunology features an exceptional illustration program and includes simple, clear explanations, abundant examples, and features that unravel the mysteries of immunology through accounts of classical discoveries and recent, cutting-edge research. Since many students in the course are preparing to enter careers in research, medicine, and other health professions, an appropriate amount of applied knowledge and clinical content is included in the narrative, features, and engaging case studies. Students will easily be able to make connections, moving beyond memorizing just what we know to truly understanding how we know what we know-and why.

So how "did" women get their curves? Why do they have breasts, while other mammals only develop breast tissue while lactating, and why do women menstruate, when virtually no other beings do so? What are the reasons for female orgasm? Why are human females kept in the dark about their own time of ovulation and maximum fertility, and why are they the only animals to experience menopause?

David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton, coauthors of acclaimed books on human sexuality and gender, discuss the theories scientists have advanced to explain these evolutionary enigmas (sometimes called "Just-So stories" by their detractors) and present hypotheses of their own. Some scientific theories are based on legitimate empirical data, while others are pure speculation. Barash and Lipton distinguish between what is solid and what remains uncertain, skillfully incorporating their expert knowledge of biology, psychology, animal behavior, anthropology, and human sexuality into their entertaining critiques. Inviting readers to examine the evidence and draw their own conclusions, Barash and Lipton tell an evolutionary suspense story that captures the excitement and thrill of true scientific detection.

Why do baby sharks, hyenas, and pelicans kill their siblings? Why do beetles and mice commit infanticide? Why are twins and birth defects more common in older human mothers? "A Natural History of Families" concisely examines what behavioral ecologists have discovered about family dynamics and what these insights might tell us about human biology and behavior. Scott Forbes's engaging account describes an uneasy union among family members in which rivalry for resources often has dramatic and even fatal consequences.

In nature, parents invest resources and control the allocation of resources among their offspring to perpetuate their genetic lineage. Those families sometimes function as cooperative units, the nepotistic and loving havens we choose to identify with. In the natural world, however, dysfunctional familial behavior is disarmingly commonplace.

While explaining why infanticide, fratricide, and other seemingly antisocial behaviors are necessary, Forbes also uncovers several surprising applications to humans. Here the conflict begins in the moments following conception as embryos struggle to wrest control of pregnancy from the mother, and to wring more nourishment from her than she can spare, thus triggering morning sickness, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Mothers, in return, often spontaneously abort embryos with severe genetic defects, allowing for prenatal quality control of offspring.

Using a broad sweep of entertaining examples culled from the world of animals and humans, "A Natural History of Families" is a lively introduction to the behavioral ecology of the family.