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Basics in Human Evolution
1st Edition - July 23, 2015
Editor: Michael P Muehlenbein
Language: English
Hardback ISBN:9780128026526
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 2 6 5 2 - 6
eBook ISBN:9780128026939
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 2 6 9 3 - 9
Basics in Human Evolution offers a broad view of evolutionary biology and medicine. The book is written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content t…Read more
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offers a broad view of evolutionary biology and medicine. The book is written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field.
From evolutionary theory, to cultural evolution, this book fills gaps in the readers’ knowledge from various backgrounds and introduces them to thought leaders in human evolution research.
Offers comprehensive coverage of the wide ranging field of human evolution
Written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field
Provides expertise from leading minds in the field
Allows the reader the ability to gain exposure to various topics in one publication
advanced students and professional scientists or academics in many subfields of biology, such as medicine, paleontology, ethology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and those studying across interdisciplinary fields in biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and developmental biology
Dedication
Preface
Part I. Positioning Human Evolution
Introduction
Chapter 1. Basic Evolutionary Theory
Synopsis
Introduction
The Origin of Genetic Variation
Variation within Populations
Genetic Drift
Natural Selection
Levels of Selection
Speciation
From Microevolution to Macroevolution
Evolutionary Theory Today
Chapter 2. Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design
Synopsis
Introduction
A Scientific Creationism
Intelligent Design
Conclusions
Part II. Primates
Introduction
Chapter 3. Primate Evolution
Synopsis
Introduction
Extant Groups of Primates
Higher-Level Relationships
Primates on an Ascending Scale?
Defining Features of Primates
Fossil Primates
Overall Evolutionary Relationships
Chapter 4. Comparative Anatomy of Primates
Synopsis
Osteology
Myology
External Features and Internal Organs
Chapter 5. Primate Behavior
Synopsis
Social Organization, Predation, and Group Living
Social Organization and Social Relationships
Dominance, Leverage, and Power
The “Socioecological Model”
Sexual Conflict and “Intersexual Mutualism”
Cooperation
Sociality and Fitness
Chapter 6. Primate Models for Human Evolution
Synopsis
Models of Human Evolution
Dentition and Diet
Locomotion
Habitat of Our Earliest Ancestors
The Macaque Model
Fossils and Living Primates
Man the Hunted
Part III. Hominins
Introduction
Chapter 7. Early Hominin Ecology
Synopsis
The Early Hominin Record
Macro Paleoenvironmental Context
Reconstructing Terrestrial Habitats
Geological Evidence
Inferring Hominin Habitats and Adaptations
Late Pliocene Adaptive Radiations
Summary: The Limits and Potential of Our Paleoecological Knowledge
Chapter 8. Bipedalism
Synopsis
How Do Humans Walk?
Anatomical Features Associated with Bipedalism
When Did Bipedalism Evolve, and What Evolutionary Stages of Bipedalism Did We Pass Through?
Why Did Bipedalism Evolve?
Chapter 9. Early Hominins
Synopsis
Taxonomy
Purported Early Hominin Species
Context: Chimpanzee Morphology
Context: Middle Miocene Apes
Context: Late Miocene Apes
The Morphology of Purported Early Hominins
Early Possible Hominins’ Adaptations
Early Possible Hominins’ Place in Nature
Chapter 10. Australopithecines
Synopsis
Australopithecus
Australopithecus Afarensis
Australopithecus Bahrelghazali
Australopithecus Anamensis
Australopithecus Garhi
Kenyanthropus (Australopithecus) Platyops
Australopithecus Sediba
Australopithecine Adaptations
Chapter 11. Early Pleistocene Homo
Synopsis
Defining the Genus Homo
History of Discovery of Early Homo Fossils
Taxonomic Diversity in the Genus Homo
Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Issues: Homo Habilis and Homo Rudolfensis
Phyletic Origins and the Dating of Early Homo
Context of Origins and Existence
Musculoskeletal Adaptations in Early Homo
Association with Stone Tools
Future Directions
Chapter 12. Archaic Homo
Synopsis
Geographical Distribution
Chronological Variation
Regional Variation
Growth, Development, and Energetics
Language, Behavior, and Culture
Evolutionary Relationships and Taxonomy
Summary
Chapter 13. Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens
Synopsis
History of Discovery
Earliest Fossil Evidence of Modern Humans
Climatic Conditions for the Spread of Modern Humans
Origins of Modern Humans
Relationships with Archaic Homo
Paleobiology of Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens
Chapter 14. Evolution of Tool Use
Synopsis
Evolving Hominin Forms and Technologies: A Review
Tools in the Animal World
Chimpanzee Tool Use as a Model for Early Hominins
The Earliest Known Stone Tools
The Oldowan (Earlier Lower Palaeolithic/Early Stone Age)
The Acheulean and Contemporaneous Industries (Later Lower Palaeolithic)
The Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age
The Upper Palaeolithic/Late Stone Age
Later Developments
Part IV. Genetics and Biology
Introduction
Chapter 15. Contemporary Human Genetic Variation
Synopsis
Introduction
A Brief History of Human Evolution
Our Species Has a Relatively Low Level of Genetic Variation
There Is Higher Genetic Variation in Sub-Saharan African Populations than in Other Geographic Regions
Genetic Diversity Declines with Distance Out of Africa
There Are Low Levels of Genetic Differentiation between Geographic Regions
Genetic Distance Is Correlated with Geography
The Human Genome Shows Evidence of Admixture from Neandertals … and Others
Natural Selection Has Further Affected the Pattern of Contemporary Genetic Variation
Summary
Chapter 16. Human Population Movements: A Genetic Perspective
Synopsis
Introduction
Out of Africa Migration of Archaic Humans
Out of Africa Migration of Anatomically Modern Humans
Genetic Admixture between Archaic and Modern Humans
Technological Advances and Migration: The Case of the European Farmers
Historic Migrations into a Previously Occupied Territory: The Case of the Romani
Most Recent Migrations into a Newfound Land: The Case of the Polynesians
Conclusions and Future Prospects
Chapter 17. Brain Evolution
Synopsis
Introduction
Lines of Evidence
Characteristics of the Human Brain
Synthesis: Putting Together Size, Organization, and Asymmetry during Human Evolution
And to the Future?
Chapter 18. Physiological Adaptations to Environmental Stressors
Synopsis
Introduction
Principles of Thermoregulation
Climate and Body Morphology
Physiological Adaptations to Cold Stress
Physiological Adaptations to Heat Stress
Physiological Adaptations to High Altitude Hypoxia
Summary
Chapter 19. Evolution of Skin Color
Synopsis
When and Why Epidermal Pigmentation Evolved
Basis for Pigment Dilution in Modern Humans
Conservation of Metabolic Energy
Summary
Chapter 20. Human Growth and Development
Synopsis
Growth and Evolution
Human versus Chimpanzee Growth
Adolescence
Evolution of Human Adolescence
Girls and Boys: Separate Paths through Adolescence
Adolescent Contributions to the Reproductive Success of Adults
Risks of Childhood and Adolescence
Conclusions
Chapter 21. Human Reproductive Ecology
Synopsis
Introduction
Human Life History
Human Reproductive Physiology: The Basics
Female Reproductive Ecology
Testicular Function during Early Development
Challenges and Future Directions of the Field of Human Reproductive Ecology
Chapter 22. Human Senescence
Synopsis
Introduction
The Evolution of Senescence
Reproductive Senescence
Future Directions
Part V. Lifeways
Introduction
Chapter 23. Hunter-Gatherers
Synopsis
Early Hunting and Gathering Subsistence
Hunter-Gatherers During the Historical Era
Migration, Biogeography, and Contemporary Populations
Hunter-Gatherers and Evolution
Hunter-Gatherers in Evolutionary Perspective: Summary
Chapter 24. Pastoralism
Synopsis
Pastoralism as Subsistence
Prehistory of Pastoralism
Biogeography of Pastoralism
Food, Diet, and Cuisine
Milk and the Evolutionary Basis for Lactose Tolerance
Health, Disease, and Pastoralism
Coevolution of Livestock and Their Human Hosts
Chapter 25. Agriculturalism
Synopsis
Introduction
Agricultural Origins
Competing Hypotheses
The Spread of Agriculture
The Columbian Exchange
“Scientific Breeding,” and the Industrial Revolution
Crop Evolution
Evaluating the Paleo Diet Hypothesis
Conclusions
Part VI. Health
Introduction
Chapter 26. Evolutionary and Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease
Synopsis
Evolutionary Perspective on Human Disease
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Developmental Plasticity and Predictive Adaptive Responses
Epigenetics as an Underpinning Mechanism
Evolutionary and Developmental Mismatch: The Case of Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases
Transgenerational Inheritance
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 27. Modernization and Disease
Synopsis
Introduction
Modernization and Disease: Basic Findings
Critiques of Studies of Modernization
New Approaches to the Study of Modernization and Disease
Discussion
Chapter 28. Modern Human Diet
Synopsis
Introduction
The Role of Diet in Hominin Evolution
Agricultural Transition: Dietary and Evolutionary Consequences
Industrialization of the Diet and Consequences for Human Biology
Paleolithic Prescriptions
Conclusion
Chapter 29. Diversity and Origins of Human Infectious Diseases
Synopsis
The Diversity of Infectious Diseases in Space
Origins of Infectious Diseases in Nonhuman Primates
The First Epidemiological Transition: Out of Africa
The Second Epidemiological Transition: Animal Domestication
The Third Epidemiological Transition: First Globalizations
The Fourth Epidemiological Transition: Recent Emergences and the Homogenization of Infectious Diseases
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 30. Coevolution of Humans and Pathogens
Synopsis
The Importance of Coevolution between Hosts and Pathogens
Ensuring Pathogen Persistence Over Time: Modes of Transmission
Mechanisms of Host–Pathogen Coevolution
Examples of Pathogens that Have Coevolved with Humans
Conclusions
Chapter 31. Paleopathology
Synopsis
Fossil Humans and Disease
Diseases in the Past
Bioarchaeology
Osteobiography
Interdisciplinarity and Difficulties in Communication
Questions for the Future
Part VII. Behavior and Culture
Introduction
Chapter 32. Evolutionary Biology of Human Stress
Synopsis
Evolving Concepts of Stress and Adaptation
How Stress Works
Stress Moderators and Buffers
Developmental and Intergenerational Processes
Stress and Health
Stress and Life History
Chapter 33. Aggression, Affiliation, and Parenting
Synopsis
Brain, Childhood, and Parenting
The Human Family
Neurological and Physiological Mechanisms
Conclusions
Chapter 34. Human Mating Systems
Synopsis
Mating Systems: Basic Concepts and Understandings
A Basic Classification of Mating Systems
What Selection Pressures Give Rise to Mating Systems?
The Polyandry “Revolution” within Behavioral Biology
New Models of Sexual Selection
Human Mating Systems
The Human Case: Do Males Possess Adaptations for Care?
Extra-Pair Paternity: Sexual or Social Monogamy?
Adaptations for Mating
Conclusions
Chapter 35. Evolution of Cognition
Synopsis
Evolution of Cognition
Consciousness
Language
Abstraction
Theory of Mind
Causal Reasoning
An Economic Mind
Cooperation
Conclusions
Chapter 36. Evolution of Language
Synopsis
Evidence from Comparative Studies
Neural Circuits and the Evolution of Human Language
The Implausibility of Universal Grammar
Fully Human Linguistic and Cognitive Capability
Chapter 37. Evolution of Moral Systems
Synopsis
Introduction
Moral Behavior
Moral Systems
Moral Sentiments
Morality and Levels of Selection
Chapter 38. Race and Ethnicity
Synopsis
Introduction
A History of Racial Science
Postwar Debates
The Social Construction of Race
Race and Health
New Genetic Sciences
Postgenomic Developments
Commercial Ancestry Estimation
Chapter 39. Evolution of Culture
Synopsis
Human Expansions
Comparative Cultural Data
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
Cultural Transition Rates
Future Work
Glossary
Index
Color Plates
No. of pages: 584
Language: English
Edition: 1
Published: July 23, 2015
Imprint: Academic Press
Hardback ISBN: 9780128026526
eBook ISBN: 9780128026939
MM
Michael P Muehlenbein
Michael P. Muehlenbein is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned an MsPH in both Tropical Medicine and Biostatistics from Tulane University, and an MPhil and PhD in Biological Anthropology from Yale University. He is a distinguished and prolific author and his research includes a number of different topics, from evolutionary endocrinology and ecological immunology to conservation medicine. He is currently working on understanding life history trade-offs between the immune and reproductive systems in primates, as well as risks of emerging infectious diseases associated with contact between humans and wild primate populations.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Anthropology
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX USA