The Use of Forensic Anthropology



The Use of Forensic Anthropology



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Forensic analysis has become and will continue to be a complicated and highly specialized field of study. Forensic investigations require teams of specialists from many different scientific fields in addition to legal and law enforcement personnel. Of the many specialties that are used in death investigations, forensic anthropology is most often associated with the analysis of skeletalized human remains. This volume provides guidelines for determining when to include and how to choose a forensic anthropologist in your investigations. The Use of Forensic Anthropology is written with the assumption that the reader is not a trained anthropologist, and goes by the premise that most law enforcement professionals simply want to know how a forensic anthropologist is going to help them do their job. Many examples and anecdotes are offered by the authors, who strive to keep the text at a clear, readable level that is informative yet enjoyable to read. Jargon is purposefully kept to a minimum, but when it is used it is defined in context so that a common use and understanding of the terms can be achieved. Coroners, medical examiners, pathologists, crime scene investigators, local and state police, and anyone working in a crime laboratory can benefit from this easy to understand guide on when to use and how to choose a forensic anthropologist.

 

Race: Histoires orales d'une obsession américaine



Race: Histoires orales d'une obsession américaine



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America's foremost oral historian tackles the most difficult and complicated issue in America today -- race relations -- by interviewing nearly a hundred blacks and whites. The result is a riveting and deeply moving -- and frequently provocative -- look at our country.

 

Good Enough: The Tolerance for Mediocrity in Nature and Society



Good Enough: The Tolerance for Mediocrity in Nature and Society



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In this spirited and irreverent critique of Darwin's long hold over our imagination, a distinguished philosopher of science makes the case that, in culture as well as nature, not only the fittest survive: the world is full of the good enough that persist too.Why is the genome of a salamander forty times larger than that of a human? Why does the avocado tree produce a million flowers and only a hundred fruits? Why, in short, is there so much waste in nature? In this lively and wide-ranging meditation on the curious accidents and unexpected detours on the path of life, Daniel Milo argues that we ask these questions because we've embraced a faulty conception of how evolution--and human society--really works.Good Enough offers a vigorous critique of the quasi-monopoly that Darwin's concept of natural selection has on our idea of the natural world. Darwinism excels in accounting for the evolution of traits, but it does not explain their excess in size and number. Many traits far exceed the optimal configuration to do the job, and yet the maintenance of this extra baggage does not prevent species from thriving for millions of years. Milo aims to give the messy side of nature its due--to stand up for the wasteful and inefficient organisms that nevertheless survive and multiply.But he does not stop at the border between evolutionary theory and its social consequences. He argues provocatively that the theory of evolution through natural selection has acquired the trappings of an ethical system. Optimization, competitiveness, and innovation have become the watchwords of Western societies, yet their role in human lives--as in the rest of nature--is dangerously overrated. Imperfection is not just good enough: it may at times be essential to survival.

 

The Global Prehistory of Human Migration



The Global Prehistory of Human Migration



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Previously published as the first volume of The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, this work is devoted exclusively to prehistoric migration, covering all periods and places from the first hominin migrations out of Africa through the end of prehistory. Presents interdisciplinary coverage of this topic, including scholarship from the fields of archaeology, anthropology, genetics, biology, linguistics, and more Includes contributions from a diverse international team of authors, representing 17 countries and a variety of disciplines Divided into two sections, covering the Pleistocene and Holocene each section examines human migration through chapters that focus on different regional and disciplinary lenses

 

The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology



The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology



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The Fourth Edition of The Neuron provides a comprehensive first course in the cell and molecular biology of nerve cells. The book begins with properties of the many newly discovered ion channels that have emerged through mapping of the genome. These channels shape the way a single neurongenerates varied patterns of electrical activity. Covered next are the molecular mechanisms that convert electrical activity into the secretion of neurotransmitter hormones at synaptic junctions between neurons. The following section examines the biochemical pathways that are linked to the action ofneurotransmitters and that can alter the cellular properties of neurons or sensory cells that transduce information from the outside world into the electrical code used by neurons. The final section reviews our rapidly expanding knowledge of the molecular factors that induce an undifferentiated cellto become a neuron, and then guide it to form appropriate synaptic connections with its partners. This section also focuses on the role of ongoing experience and activity in shaping these connections, and finishes with an account of mechanisms thought to underlie the phenomena of learning andmemory. The book contains scores of color figures and fully updated chapters online content packaged exclusively with the Fourth Edition includes detailed animations of neural processes, in-depth supplemental reading, and additional full-color figures and tables.

 

What Does It Mean to Be Human?: Official Companion Book to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's David H. K...



What Does It Mean to Be Human?: Official Companion Book to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's David H. K...



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This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species’ physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes.In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic’s paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth’s environmental history.The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall’s displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.

 

Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge



Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge



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This lively and provocative book casts an anthropological eye on the field of science in a wide-ranging and innovative discussion that integrates philosophy, history, sociology, and auto-ethnography. Jonathan Marks examines biological anthropology, the history of the life sciences, and the literature of science studies while upending common understandings of science and culture with a mixture of anthropology, common sense, and disarming humor. Science, Marks argues, is widely accepted to be three things: a method of understanding and a means of establishing facts about the universe, the facts themselves, and a voice of authority or a locus of cultural power. This triple identity creates conflicting roles and tensions within the field of science and leads to its record of instructive successes and failures. Among the topics Marks addresses are the scientific revolution, science as thought and performance, creationism, scientific fraud, and modern scientific racism. Applying his considerable insight, energy, and wit, Marks sheds new light on the evolution of science, its role in modern culture, and its challenges for the twenty-first century.