Biological Anthropology - Brossura

Park, Michael

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0078140005 ISBN 13: 9780078140006

Casa editrice: McGraw-Hill Education, 2009

Riassunto

This concise introduction to biological anthropology discusses the core areas of the discipline within a unique framework modeled on the scientific method. Emphasizing themes and theories, the text presents facts as supportive evidence rather than dissociated pieces of information. Each chapter explores questions that get at the heart of the field, and then reexamines them in the same way that scientists generate and test hypotheses. Designed from its inception as a concise text, Biological Anthropology covers topics in a carefully managed level of detail, and offers examples of the everyday uses of biological anthropology.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Michael Alan Park (Ph.D. Indiana, 1979) is a professor of anthropology at Central Connecticut State University, where he has been on the faculty since 1973, teaching courses in general anthropology, human evolution, biocultural diversity, human ecology, forensic anthropology, and the evolution of human behavior. His interests focus on the application of evolutionary theory to the story of human evolution and on the quality of science education and the public perception and understanding of scientific matters. He is the author or co-author of four current texts in anthropology as well as technical and popular articles.

Contenuti:

Preface

To the Student

1 Biological Anthropology

In the Field: Doing Biological Anthropology

Among the Hutterites

A Hawaiian in Connecticut

What Is Biological Anthropology?

Defining Anthropology

The Specialties of Bioanthropology

Bioanthropology and Science

Science

Belief Systems

Contemporary Reflections: Is Evolution a Fact, a Theory or Just a Hypothesis?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

2 The Evolution of Evolution

"On the Shoulders of Giants": Explaining the Changing Earth

The Biblical Context

The Framework of "Natural Philosophy"

"Common Sense At Its Best": Explaining Biological Change

Darwin's Predecessors

Charles Darwin

The Modern Theory of Evolution

Contemporary Reflections: Has Science Dehumanized Society?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

3 Evolutionary Genetics

How Genes Work

An Overview of the Human Genome

From Genes to Traits

How Inheritance Works

Contemporary Reflections: What is Genetic Cloning?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

4 The Processes of Evolution

Species: The Units of Evolution

The Four Processes of Evolution

Mutations: Necessary Errors

Natural Selection: The Prime Mover of Evolution

Gene Flow: Mixing Populations' Genes

Genetic Drift: Random Evolution

Sickle Cell Anemia: Evolutionary Processes in Action

Genetics and Symptoms

The Adaptive Explanation

Other Relationships

Contemporary Reflections: Are Humans Still Evolving?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

5 The Origin of Species and the Shape of Evolution

New Species

Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms

Processes of Speciation

The Evolution of Life's Diversity

Our Family Tree

Adaptive Radiation

The Shape of the Family Tree

Darwinian Gradualism

Punctuated Equilibrium

Contemporary Reflections: Are There Alternatives to Evolution?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

6 A Brief Evolutionary Timetable

From the Beginning: A Quick History

Drifting Continents and Mass Extinctions: The Pace of Change

Contemporary Reflections: Are Mass Extinctions a Thing of the Past?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

7 The Primates

Naming the Animals

Linnaean Taxonomy

Cladistic Taxonomy

What is a Primate?

The Senses

Movement

Reproduction

Intelligence

Behavior Patterns

A Survey of the Living Primates

Prosimians

Anthropoids

The Human Primate

The Senses

Movement

Reproduction

Intelligence

Behavior Patterns

Contemporary Reflections: What Is the Status of Our Closest Relatives?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

8 Primate Behavior and Human Evolution

Behavioral Evolution

How Does Behavior Evolve?

How Do We Study Behavior?

Primate Behavior

Baboons

Chimpanzees

Bonobos

Contemporary Reflections: Are Some Human Behaviors Genetic?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

9 Studying the Human Past

Bones: The Primate Skeleton

Old Bones: Locating, Recovering, and Dating Fossils

Finding Fossils

Dating Fossils

How Fossils Get To Be Fossils

Genes: New Windows To the Past

The "Molecular Clock"

The Genetic Differences Between Humans and Chimps

Contemporary Reflections: Who Owns Old Bones?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

10 Evolution of the Early Hominins

The Origin and Evolution of the Primates

Bipedalism

The Benefits of Bipedalism

The Evolution of Bipedalism

The Early Hominins

Australopithecus

Paranthropus

The Search for the First Hominins

Putting It All Together

Connecting the Dots

The Ecological Context

Contemporary Reflections: Is There a "Missing Link"?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

11 The Evolution of Genus Homo

Lumpers and Splitters: An Organizing Plan

The First Members of Genus Homo

The First Stone Tools

The Fossils

A New Adaptation

To New Lands

The First Fossils

Migration and the Ice Ages

The Evolution of Homo erectus

The Life of Homo erectus

Big Brains, Archaic Skulls

Homo antecessor

Homo heidelbergensis

The Neandertals

Physical Features

Culture

Modern Humans

Contemporary Reflections: Who Are the "Hobbits" from Indonesia?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

12 The Debate Over Modern Human Origins

The Models

African Replacement (AR) Model

Multiregional Evolution (MRE) Model

The Key Requirements of Each Model

The Evidence

The Fossil and Archaeological Records

Genetic Evidence

Evolutionary Theory

Primarily African Origin Model

Contemporary Reflections: Is There a Connection Between Modern Human Origins and Race?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

13 Evolution and Adaptation in Human Populations

Population Adaptations

Species Adaptations

Variation in Adaptations

Are All Variations Adaptively Important?

Disease and Human Populations

Diseases are "Natural"

Disease and Hominin Evolution

Disease and History

Emerging Diseases

Contemporary Reflections: Where Is the Population Crisis?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

14 Human Biological Diversity

Sex and Gender

Why Are There No Biological Races Within the Human Species?

Race as a Biological Concept

Human Phenotypic Variation

Genetic Variation

Evolutionary Theory

What, Then, Are Human Races?

Race, Bioanthropology, and Social Issues

Race and Intelligence

Race and Athletic Ability

Contemporary Reflections: Are Genetic Ancestry Tests Worth the Money?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

15 Biological Anthropology and Today's World

Forensic Anthropology: Reading the Bones

Lessons from the Past

Bioanthropology and Global Issues

Contemporary Reflections: What Can One Do with a Degree in Bioanthropology?

Summary

Questions for Further Thought

Key Terms

Suggested Readings

Appendix I: Protein Synthesis and the Genetic Code

Appendix II: Genes in Populations

Glossary of Human and Nonhuman Primates

Glossary of Terms

References

Index

Su questa edizione

• Editore: McGraw-Hill Education
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0078140005
• ISBN 13: 9780078140006
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 6
• Numero di pagine: 451