Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
OTHER ARTICLES
From a scientist and writer E.O. Wilson has called the world authority on primate social behavior comes a fascinating look at the most provocative aspects of human nature through our two closest cousins in the ape family. From one of the world's greatest experts on primate behavior (Desmond Morris) comes a look at the most provocative aspects of human nature-power, sex, violence, kindness, and morality-through our closest cousins. For nearly twenty years, Frans De Waal has studied both the famously aggressive chimpanzee and the egalitarian, matriarchal bonobo, two species whose DNA is nearly identical to ours. The result is an engrossing narrative that reveals what their behavior can teach us about ourselves.
Reflections of Our Past: How Human History Is Revealed in Our Genes
Reflections of Our Past: How Human History Is Revealed in Our Genes
OTHER ARTICLES
The rise of the multi-billion dollar ancestry testing industry points to one immutable truth about us as human beings: we want to know where we come from and who our ancestors were. John H. Relethford and Deborah A. Bolnick explore this topic and many more in this second edition of Reflections of Our Past.Where did modern humans come from and how important are the biological differences among us? Are we descended from Neandertals? How should we understand the connections between genetic ancestry, race, and identity? Were Native Americans the first settlers of the Americas? Can we see even in the Irish of today evidence of Viking invasions of a millennium ago? Through engaging examination of issues such as these, and using non-technical language, Reflections of Our Pastshows how anthropologists use genetic information to suggest answers to fundamental questions about human history. By looking at genetic variation in the world today and in the past, we can reconstruct the recent and remote events and processes that have created the variation we see, providing a fascinating reflection of our genetic past.
This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society
This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society
OTHER ARTICLES
A riveting investigation of the myriad ways that parasites control how other creatures - including humans - think, feel, and act. These tiny organisms can live only inside another animal, and, as McAuliffe reveals, they have many evolutionary motives for manipulating their host's behavior. Far more often than appreciated, these puppeteers orchestrate the interplay between predator and prey. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to the profound influence of parasites. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness, impulsivity - even suicide. Microbes in our gut affect our emotions and the very wiring of our brains. Germs that cause colds and flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. As McAuliffe documents, a subconscious fear of contagion impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our sexual attractions and social circles to our morals and political views. Drawing on a huge body of research, she argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites - and a double-edged sword. The horror and revulsion we feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. In the tradition of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish, This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human.
Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny
Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny
OTHER ARTICLES
Winner of the William James Book AwardWinner of the Eleanor Maccoby Book AwardA landmark in our understanding of human development.--Paul Harris, author of Trusting What You're ToldMagisterial...Makes an impressive argument that most distinctly human traits are established early in childhood and that the general chronology in which these traits appear can...be identified.--Wall Street JournalVirtually all theories of how humans have become such a distinctive species focus on evolution. Becoming Human looks instead to development and reveals how those things that make us unique are constructed during the first seven years of a child's life.In this groundbreaking work, Michael Tomasello draws from three decades of experimental research with chimpanzees, bonobos, and children to propose a new framework for psychological growth between birth and seven years of age. He identifies eight pathways that differentiate humans from their primate relatives: social cognition, communication, cultural learning, cooperative thinking, collaboration, prosociality, social norms, and moral identity. In each of these, great apes possess rudimentary abilities, but the maturation of humans' evolved capacities for shared intentionality transform these abilities into uniquely human cognition and sociality.How does human psychological growth run in the first seven years, in particular how does it instill 'culture' in us? ...Most of all, how does the capacity for shared intentionality and self-regulation evolve in people? This is a very thoughtful and also important book.--Tyler Cowen, Marginal RevolutionTheoretically daring and experimentally ingenious, Becoming Human squarely tackles the abiding question of what makes us human.--Susan GelmanDestined to become a classic. Anyone who is interested in cognitive science, child development, human evolution, or comparative psychology should read this book.--Andrew Meltzoff
Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Humans: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology
Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Humans: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology
OTHER ARTICLES
UNDERSTANDING HUMANS: INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY shows students how anthropologists and archaeologists go about their work as they study human evolution, living nonhuman primates, human adaptation and variation, the origin and dispersal of modern humans, food production, the first civilizations of the Old and New Worlds, and so much more. At a Glance sections and Focus Questions help students better understand the material and study more effectively for exams.
Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010
Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010
OTHER ARTICLES
Advances in our ability to analyse information from skeletal remains and subsequent developments in the field of forensic anthropology make it possible to identify more victims of homicides, mass-fatality disasters, and genocide. Summarizing the vast collection of international literature that has developed over the past decade, Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010 explores critical themes fundamental to this evolving topic. A superior supplemental text for any physical anthropology or archaeology class, this volume provides an ideal starting point for advanced exploration and more detailed analysis of select areas. Each chapter presents an overview of the theme under discussion, identifies present trends in research, and suggests areas in which future research could be developed.Topics discussed include:Age determination in juveniles and adults Sex, race, and ancestry determination Stature determination Dental and facial identification Skeletal trauma and bone pathology Taphonomy and comparative osteology Identification from soft tissuesHeavily referenced, each chapter contains extensive bibliographies that facilitate further study. The scope of the book's coverage and the careful presentation of meticulous research make it an essential resource for those seeking deeper exploration of this growing field.
