Overview

This concise introduction to biological anthropology discusses the core areas of the discipline within a unique framework modeled on the scientific method. The text emphasizes themes and theories: facts are presented as supportive evidence rather than dissociated pieces of information. Each chapter poses questions that get at the heart of the field, answers them, and then reexamines them in the same way that scientists generate and test hypotheses. Unlike all other brief biological anthropology texts, this is not an abridged version of a longer text. Its presentation is fluid, well integrated, and covers all the standard topics in a carefully managed level of detail. Well-paced explanations, an inviting tone, and examples of the everyday uses of biological anthropology make the text a pleasure to read.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Park
Publisher:   McGraw-Hill Education - Europe
Imprint:   McGraw-Hill Professional
Edition:   5th edition
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.744kg
ISBN:  

9780073530970

ISBN 10:   0073530972
Pages:   512
Publication Date:   16 November 2006
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Replaced By:   0078140005
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Previous Edition TOC1. BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGYIn the Field: Doing Biological AnthropologyWhat Is Biological Anthropology?Bioanthropology and ScienceThe Scientific MethodBelief SystemsContemporary Reflections: Is Evolution a Fact, a Theoryor Just a Hypothesis?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings2. THE EVOLUTION OF EVOLUTION“On the Shoulders of Giants”: Explaining the Changing Earth“Common Sense at Its Best”: Explaining Biological ChangeContemporary Reflections: Has Science Dehumanized Society?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings3. EVOLUTIONARY GENETICSHow Genes WorkAn Overview of the Human GenomeFrom Gene to TraitHow Inheritance WorksContemporary Reflections: What Is Genetic Cloning?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings4. THE PROCESSES OF EVOLUTIONSpecies: The Units of EvolutionMutations: Necessary ErrorsNatural Selection: The Prime Mover of EvolutionGene Flow: Mixing Populations’ GenesGenetic Drift: Random EvolutionSickle Cell Anemia: Evolutionary Processes in ActionContemporary Reflections: Are Humans Still Evolving?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings5. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES AND THE SHAPE OF EVOLUTIONNew SpeciesAdaptive Radiation: The Evolution of Life’s DiversityThe Shape of the Family TreeEvolution Questioned: The Pseudoscience of “Scientific Creationism”Contemporary Reflections: Can We See Evolution in Action?Summary Questions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings6. A BRIEF EVOLUTIONARY TIMETABLEFrom the Beginning: A Quick HistoryDrifting Continents and Mass Extinctions: The Pace ofChangeContemporary Reflections: Are Mass Extinctions a Thing of the Past?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings7. THE PRIMATESNaming the AnimalsLinnaean TaxonomyCladisticsWhat Is a Primate?The SensesMovementReproductionIntelligenceBehavior PatternsA Survey of the Living PrimatesProsimiansAnthropoidsThe Human PrimateThe SensesMovementReproductionIntelligenceBehavior PatternsContemporary Reflections: What Is the Status of Our Closest Relatives?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings8. PRIMATE BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN EVOLUTIONStudying BehaviorBaboonsChimpanzeesBonobosContemporary Reflections: Are Some Human Behaviors Genetic?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings9. STUDYING THE HUMAN PASTBones: The Primate SkeletonOld Bones: Locating, Recovering, and Dating FossilsHow Fossils Get to Be FossilsGenes: New Windows to the PastContemporary Reflections: Who Owns Old Bones?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings10. EVOLUTION OF THE HOMINIDSThe Origin and Evolution of the PrimatesThe Early Hominids: Bipedal PrimatesSearching for the First HominidsBipedalismThe Benefits of BipedalismExplaining the Emergence of BipedalismThe Hominids EvolveMore AustralopithecenesStill More HominidsPutting It All TogetherContemporary Reflections: Where Is the “Missing Link”?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings11. THE EVOLUTION OF GENUS HOMOLumpers and Splitters: An Organizing PlanThe First Members of Genus HomoTo New LandsBig Brains, Archaic SkullsThe NeandertalsModern HumansContemporary Reflections: What Do We Mean by “Human”?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings12. THE DEBATE OVER MODERN HUMAN ORIGINSThe Two Major ModelsThe Recent African Origin (RAO) ModelThe Multiregional Evolution (MRE) ModelThe Key Requirements of Each ModelThe EvidenceThe Fossil RecordGeneticsEvolutionary TheoryContemporary Reflections: Is There a Connection betweenModern Human Origins and Race?Mostly-Out-of-Africa: An Alternative ModelSummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings13. THE STUDY OF LIVING PEOPLESEvolution within PopulationsDescribing PopulationsHuman AdaptationsSpecies AdaptationsVariation in AdaptationsAre All Polymorphisms Adaptively Important?Disease and Human PopulationsThe Bioanthropology of IndividualsComtemporary Reflections: Where Is the Population Crisis?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings14. HUMAN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYSex and GenderRace as a Biological ConceptWhy Are There No Biological Races within the Human Species?Human Phenotypic VariationGenetic VariationEvolutionary TheoryWhat, Then, Are Human Races?Race, Bioanthropology, and Social IssuesContemporary Reflections: Are There Racial Differences in Athletic Ability?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtKey TermsSuggested Readings15. BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND TODAY’S WORLDForensic Anthropology: Reading the BonesLessons from the PastBioanthropology and Global IssuesContemporary Reflections: What Can One Do with a Degree in Bioanthropology?SummaryQuestions for Further ThoughtSuggested ReadingsAppendix: Genes in PopulationsExercises Glossary of Human and Nonhuman PrimatesGlossary of TermsReferencesCreditsIndex

Reviews

Author Information

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.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions