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Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Australopithecus africanus, in 1925. This volume synthesizes the geological and paleontological context of the species in East and South Africa; covers individual sites, such as Dikika, Hadar, Sterkfontein, and Malapa; debates the alpha taxonomy of some of the species; and addresses questions regarding the movements of the species across the continent. Additional chapters discuss the genus in terms of sexual dimorphism, diet reconstruction using microwear and isotopic methodologies, postural and locomotor behavior, and ontogeny.

Beyond Liminality: Ontologies of Abundant Betweenness examines the concept of liminality in the social sciences and humanities, and advocates for a more critical use of the concept while offering more precise alternatives.Originally conceived in response to the near-universal ritualization of changes of status (i.e.,'rites of passage'), liminality was a welcome and much-needed correction to the reigning static and structural models of culture at the time. However, it soon escaped its initial realm and was enthusiastically—and mostly uncritically—absorbed by many if not all scholarly disciplines. The very success of the concept suggests that there is something about it that resonates with our own cultural sentiments. However, the assumptions that underlie diagnoses of liminality are seldom noted and even more seldom analyzed and critiqued. This book examines the history of the concept, its evolution, and its current status, and asks whether liminality accurately reflects lived realities which might better be described by fluidity, hybridity, multiplicity, constant motion and recombination, and abundant betweenness.Beyond Liminality: Ontologies of Abundant Betweenness is key reading for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities interested in ritual, performance, identity formation, rights, ontology, and epistemology.

This volume presents important essays inspired by the pioneering works of three leading women anthropologists. The title may therefore be read in more than one way. The three biographical essays in this volume as well as the comprehensive bibliographies of these anthropologists'works fully confirm the high esteem in which their remarkable personalities are held to this day and offer material about them not formerly available. The book includes important discussions by distinguished social anthropologists, based on rich ethnographic data, of the many identities, personhoods, powers, and other various categorizations of women, each author handling her material and analyses in her own distinctive way. Of particular value is Shirley Ardener's perceptive introductory essay which places the volume in the wider context of some areas of major concern to social scientists, such as the construction of identities, kinship theory, and the production of knowledge itself, as well as of the particularities of women in diverse cultures.

All that is central to the dynamic process in human society is evident in the study of hunter-gatherers - peoples whose subsistence way of life reflects the original form of human adaptation. This is the thesis of these wide-ranging volumes in which internationally leading scholars consider hunter-gatherer peoples in Africa, Asia, Australia and North America and reflect theoretically on the hunter-gatherer condition.Volume 1: Hunters and Gatherers - History, Evolution and Social ChangeVolume II: Hunters and Gatherers - Property, Power and Ideology

Based on an ethnographic study on the Andean Tri-border (between Chile, Peru, and Bolivia), this volume addresses the experience of Aymara cross-border women from Bolivia employed in the rural valleys on the outskirts of Arica (Chile's northernmost city). As protagonists of transborder mobility circuits, these women are intersectionally impacted by different forms of social vulnerability. With a feminist anthropological perspective, the book investigates how the boundaries of gender are constructed in the (multi)situated experience of these transborder women. By building a bridge between classical anthropological studies on kinship and contemporary debates on transnational and transborder mobility, the book invites us to rethink structuralist theoretical assertions on the elementary character of family alliances.

The last 20 years have witnessed tremendous growth in theoretical and empirical work on emotions, including groundbreaking work on anger, disgust, pride, shame, sexual jealousy, romantic love, and more. Such work has demonstrated that emotions pervade nearly all aspects of psychological life, and that emotions are key to survival and reproduction and are therefore prime targets of natural selection. Emotions have also been implicated in a variety of psychological disorders, from the obvious (depression, anxiety) to the much less so (schizoid personality disorder, borderline personality disorder). In The Oxford Handbook of Evolution and the Emotions, Laith Al-Shawaf and Todd K. Shackelford have gathered a group of leading scholars in the field to present a centralized resource for researchers and students wishing to understand emotions from an evolutionary perspective. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive overview of the literature, with a special focus on 1) conceptual foundations of evolutionary approaches to the emotions, 2) specific emotions, such as love, jealousy, anger, pride, disgust, shame, and others, 3) the importance of emotions in daily life, and 4) emotion disorders. The volume consists of four parts; the first part covers conceptual foundations of evolutionary approaches to the emotions (Evolution and the Emotions: Conceptual Foundations). The second part consists of specific emotions (Evolutionary Approaches to Specific Emotions). The third part focuses on the role of emotions in daily life, including spheres such as friendship, romantic relationships, morality, and politics (Evolutionary Approaches to Emotions in Daily Life). The fourth and final part consists of chapters on distinct emotion disorders (Evolutionary Approaches to Emotion Disorders). Comprehensive and integrative in nature, this Handbook is as an essential resource for students and scholars from a diversity of fields wishing to build upon our theoretical and empirical understanding of the emotions.

This book examines disease in the context of gender discrimination. It highlights and explores how socio-economic, political, cultural, and gender dimensions play a crucial role in understanding and defining disease.Through two broad categories – non-literary and literary – the volume discusses concerns such as media representation of gender, racial violence, domestic violence, and healthcare discrimination during Covid-19 pandemic, and focuses on the literary representation of gender discrimination related to diseases within and beyond South Asia. The chapters are based on fieldwork, demographic investigations, and statistics that offer a clear and comprehensive insight into the problems.This book will be beneficial to students and researchers of gender studies, pandemic studies, literature, anthropology, social sciences, and disease humanities.

This book is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to primates. It provides both a survey and synthesis of primate history, biology, and behavior. As a survey, it offers a focused review of living and extinct primates in regional and community frameworks. As a synthesis, it applies the community perspective in a unique way to explore primates'adaptive diversity in the context of how evolution works. The book encourages students to study primates as integrated members of regional communities, ecologically, historically, and evolutionarily.The chapters are organized to emphasize the patterns of primate radiations in the four regions of the world where primates live, and to facilitate comparisons among the radiations. The overviews of communities illustrate how the ecological adaptations of different species and taxonomic or phylogenetic groups enable them to coexist. Illustrations and tools to aid students'learning include case studies, photographs, figures, tables, charts, key concepts, and quizlets to self-test. This book is an ideal introduction for students studying nonhuman primates, primatology, primate behavior, or primate ecology.

This book combines documentation and analysis of the contents of exhibits in 12 museums (Part 1) with interviews with experts involved in the creation of exhibits (Part 2) to explore variation in human evolution exhibits. To be successful, museum exhibits must make a personal connection with visitors, inspiring them to learn more. Human evolution exhibits thus need contemporary relevance. It is crucial to find ways to bind our deep past to our lives today. Presenting our story, and our collective history, some human evolution exhibits reach an audience of millions each year. An understanding of evolution is fundamental to modern biology, and a lack of knowledge of basic principles has practical consequences, including impairing reception of health messages. The goal of the volume is to stimulate discussion of how the presentation of evolution, and in particular human evolution, can be improved, contributing to scientific literacy and engagement with evolutionary science. To enhance relevance to a broader public, the author argues that incorporation of evolutionary medicine and clearer explanations of ancestry and human biological variation are needed. The surveyed museums include four in Texas, the author's home state, seven additional renowned U.S. museums, and the Natural History Museum in London. Some of the 35 interviewees are prominent academic researchers; other contribute their expertise in design, art, and education. Topics discussed include exhibit content and changing exhibits, the ideal vs. reality in exhibit creation, self-assessments of exhibits, education and “edutainment,” and exhibit content intersections with religion, politics, and the history of representations of race / human biological variation. A bibliographic essay, appendices, and text boxes provide additional information for readers desiring more in-depth study. This volume is of interest to a wide range of readers in anthropology, museum studies, and science communication.

Archaeological evidence and ethnohistoric accounts document ancient groups from around the world intentionally binding their infants'head in one of two manners. Soon after birth they would either strap hard, flat devices (e.g., boards) to both the front and back of the infant's head, or wrap tight bandages (e.g., cords) around the head. The result is a permanently modified, adult head. In Boards and Cords, bioarchaeologist and skeletal biologist, Tyler G. O'Brien, explores the long-practiced, biocultural phenomenon of intentional cranial modification via an anthropological lens. An introductory chapter offers briefly summarized answers to main questions often asked about cranial modification. The book then covers normal cranial growth and development to set the groundwork for understanding better how scientists interpret abnormally shaped pathological skulls from those that are modified. What follows is a thorough exploration of archaeological evidence and ethnohistoric accounts beginning with the earliest modified skulls, found at sites dating back 20,000 years, and continuing to today's modern-day use of the cranial orthotic helmet as corrective treatment for infants with deformational plagiocephaly.This book is a valuable multidisciplinary tool for the student and scholar who wants to read a global account of intentional cranial modification.

Repatriation, Science, and Identity explores the entanglement of race, history, identity and ethics inherent in the application of scientific techniques to determine the provenance of Indigenous Ancestral Remains in repatriation claims and processes. The book considers how these issues relate to collections of Indigenous Ancestral (bodily) Remains but also their resonance with emerging concerns about the relatively unknown history of scientific interest in Indigenous hair and blood samples. It also explores the more recent practice of sampling for the purposes of DNA analysis and issues concerning the data that has been produced from all of the above types of research. Placing recent interest in applying scientific techniques to repatriation in their historical context, it enables discourses of identity and scientific authority, an assessment of their efficacy and an exploration of ethical and practical challenges and opportunities. In doing so, this book reveals new histories about scientific interest in Indigenous biology and the collections that resulted, as well as providing reflection for all repatriation practitioners considering scientific investigation when faced with the challenges inherent in the repatriation of unprovenanced or poorly provenanced Ancestral Remains. Providing the reader with a means to approach the value, or otherwise, of the scientific information they may encounter, Repatriation, Science, and Identity is an invaluable resource for researchers and professionals working with Indigenous Ancestral Remains.

This book focuses on the development of the National Museum of Natural History's David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins. As one of the most visited human evolution exhibits in the world and the largest such exhibit in the United States, it has tremendous influence on public perception and knowledge of human evolution. The chapters explore how this exhibit came about, how it has changed since opening, and the associated educational and public outreach activities of members of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program. The author uses the term “adaptive resilience” to describe a central theme of the exhibit, our species'adaptation to changing environments as a key feature of our success, and to refer to the resilience of Richard B. Potts in creating his vision for the hall. Contextual sections situate the hall's development within the history of paleoanthropology, the politics of evolution and climate change, and African contributions. The book will be of particular interest to scholars of anthropology and museum studies as well as the history of science and science communication.

Baboon Perspectives on Early Human Ancestors brings together the most recent information on the behavior and ecology of Papio baboons and early hominins. Building on a long tradition and integrating recent developments, it discusses the ways that baboon behavior can enhance our understanding of our early ancestors. This approach augments interpretation of the archeological record and provides hypotheses for the gaps in the record and for the millions of years before the record began. Baboon behavior complements the widely used chimpanzee models, but also generates competing hypotheses. Among the many topics covered in the book are foraging and predator defense; multi-level societies and male-female relationships; social and ecological cognition; and communication and the roots of language.

This book offers a comprehensive understanding of the natural history of the Japanese Archipelago (Yaponesia), employing cutting-edge genomic research to provide insights into the prehistory in this region. It provides an in-depth exploration of the genetic makeup of domesticated plants and animals in the Japanese Archipelago, including their relationships with neighboring regions in Asia. The book is unique in its comprehensive approach, weaving together the latest genomic research, historical records, and linguistic analysis to provide a detailed understanding of the past. The book covers the development of Japanese society and culture from the Jomon era to the present day. It discusses the animal and plant diversity of the country, including their distribution, evolution, and interaction with human society and culture. The linguistic distributions of related terms are also explored. Using the latest genomic research, the book offers a fresh perspective on the past and present of the Japanese Archipelago, providing a comprehensive understanding of the natural and cultural history of the Japanese Archipelago. It is a valuable resource for professionals and academics in genomics, archaeology, and linguistics, as well as general readers interested in Japanese history, culture, and the environment.

Human evolutionary demography is an emerging field blending natural science with social science. This edited volume provides a much-needed, interdisciplinary introduction to the field and highlights cutting-edge research for interested readers and researchers in demography, the evolutionary behavioural sciences, biology, and related disciplines. By bridging the boundaries between social and biological sciences, the volume stresses the importance of a unified understanding of both in order to grasp past and current demographic patterns. Demographic traits, and traits related to demographic outcomes, including fertility and mortality rates, marriage, parental care, menopause, and cooperative behavior are subject to evolutionary processes. Bringing an understanding of evolution into demography therefore incorporates valuable insights into this field; just as knowledge of demography is key to understanding evolutionary processes. By asking questions about old patterns from a new perspective, the volume—composed of contributions from established and early-career academics—demonstrates that a combination of social science research and evolutionary theory offers holistic understandings and approaches that benefit both fields. Human Evolutionary Demography introduces an emerging field in an accessible style. It is suitable for graduate courses in demography, as well as upper-level undergraduates. Its range of research is sure to be of interest to academics working on demographic topics (anthropologists, sociologists, demographers), natural scientists working on evolutionary processes, and disciplines which cross-cut natural and social science, such as evolutionary psychology, human behavioral ecology, cultural evolution, and evolutionary medicine. As an accessible introduction, it should interest readers whether or not they are currently familiar with human evolutionary demography.

During periods of environmental and societal upheaval, design has the potential to be a formidable catalyst towards a sustainable future. However, to unleash its full power, significant shifts in both theory and practice are imperative. This book adopts a unique approach, blending anthropological perspectives with philosophy and cognitive science, and advocates for a thorough transformation of the existing design curriculum.Supported by a vast body of literature in evolutionary science and design research, the book presents a blueprint for fostering more sustainable patterns of production and consumption. This blueprint is grounded in human virtues rather than vices and proposes a new curriculum tailored towards pro-sociality and sustainability. Leveraging his extensive professional background and expertise in the circular economy, Michael Leube offers practical examples, methods and tools for implementing sustainable approaches in the practical work of experienced designers. Showcasing cutting-edge innovations for pro-social and humanitarian design, the book ultimately argues that if we change the objective of design from creating desire to creating value, we can solve many of the most pressing social problems, from the cooperation of citizens to sustainable cities.The book will be useful for those studying and teaching design and anthropology, and it will also be an important tool for practicing designers and engineers interested in learning how to design for social and ecological awareness.

This book encapsulates a long period of history of human progress by highlighting crucial social, economic, and cultural dynamics. It presents recent historiography and new analytical tools used to analyse multi-dimensional themes involved in social formations in different parts of the world. This is a reader-friendly book with simple and lucid language and fulfils the pressing needs of students studying the course on Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the ancient and medieval world at various universities across the world. The summary, key words, and representative questions at the end of each chapter would assist in revision and a better understanding of the issues dealt with therein. A detailed chapter-end reference would enable and motivate the readers to engage in further studies for a better understanding of the themes.This book will be of interest to students, researchers, and academics in the area of history – ancient and medieval world history, in particular, and anthropology. It will also be an interesting read for general readers interested in knowing about the ancient and medieval world.

This book explores how past peoples navigated and created power structures and social relationships, using a case study from the Titicaca Basin of Bolivia (800 BC–AD 400). Based on the analysis of human skeletal remains, it combines anthropological social theory, archaeological contexts, and biological indicators of identity, disease, and labor to present a microhistory. The analysis moves in scale from individual experiences of daily life to broad patterns of shared identity and kinship during a time of significant economic and ecological change in the lake basin. The volume is particularly valuable for scholars and students interested in what bioarchaeology can tell us about power and social relationships in the past and how this is relevant to modern constructions of community.

This volume presents a collection of papers on New World anthropology and history, from physical anthropology to historical memory to women's history. The papers were presented at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Russian-American Research Nexus (RARN) Forums, and offer a unique perspective on the New World from a variety of Russian and American scholars. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of anthropology and history of the New World. It is also an essential resource for anyone interested in the latest research on this important topic.

This collection delves into the conceptual and semantic dissection of aesthetic and moral emotions. It grapples with their definition, scope, function, and structure. Highlighting a range of semantic research methods, the authors also present interdisciplinary studies on emotions like anger, admiration, disgust, guilt, and feelings linked to beauty perception. This book serves as a thematic and methodological gateway to interdisciplinary human emotionality research.

Margo DeMello oferece uma introdução abrangente aos estudos do corpo, explorando as várias perspectivas acadêmicas sobre essa temática crucial. Com clareza e profundidade ela examina as representações e significados do corpo em diferentes contextos culturais e sociais. Desde a história do corpo até as questões contemporâneas, esta é uma leitura essencial para aqueles que desejam compreender a complexidade e a importância do estudo do corpo humano.

Born within and against the violence of European colonial conquest, anthropology has aspired to understand the diversity of human experience in ethical and transformative ways. The New Invitation to Anthropology is a fresh and accessible text that takes students to the heart of the discipline and reveals the ongoing relevance of anthropology today. The New Invitation to Anthropology, Fifth Edition has an intimate touch that invites students in and helps them understand the historical roots of anthropology and its connection to recent social and political issues. Part I covers the history of the discipline, the emergence of the concept of culture, and ethnographic field methods in relation to European imperialism and discourses on race. Part II illustrates how the concept of culture shaped specific domains of anthropological study, including ecological adaptation, social class, gender, family, marriage, religion, and medicine.As a timely and engaging “non-textbook,” The New Invitation to Anthropology explores anthropological perspectives on real-world problems, helping students think like anthropologists and become better citizens of the world.New To This EditionSignificantly revised Chapter 1, “The Origins of North American Anthropology,” demonstrates how modern anthropology emerged out of 19th century theories of race and social evolutionism and develops critical understandings of modern forms of racism New sections on social class and globalization in Chapter 4 offer insights into the complexities of modern global problems like climate changeNew elaborations of intersectionality in Chapter 5, “Sex, Gender, and Inequality” reinforces discussions of gender-based inequalityChapter 7 on religious experience now incorporates healing and medicine to expand a framework of studying belief and experience

This book presents an evolutionary theory of the origin and step-by-step development of linguistic structures and cognitive abilities from the early stages of anthropogenesis to the Upper Paleolithic. Emphasizing the social nature of the human mind and using an extended version of C.Hempel's explanatory logic, the author proves that language and consciousness emerged and evolved through the daily efforts of our ancestors to overcome mutual misunderstandings in increasingly complex social orders with increasing tasks on memory, thinking, and normative regulation of behavior, with the addition of new and new communicative concerns.The book addresses questions such as the following:What unique social conditions led to the emergence of the first protosyllables and protowords?What steps enabled the crossing of the'linguistic Rubicon'(between animal communication and human speech)?Why were syllables and phonemes needed? How did ourancestors overcome the difficulties of misunderstanding?How, when, and why did ancient people learn to speak in turns? Why did they begin to talk about past and distant events? What is consciousness and how did it evolve along with language?How many original languages were there and why are there roughly 200 philas (language macrofamilies)?How and why did the number of languages and the degree of their complexity change in pre-written history?Did the Romance languages really evolve from Latin?Accordingly, the book will appeal to scholars in various disciplines who are interested in a better understanding of the cognitive aspects of anthropogenesis and the ancient origins of language and consciousness.

This work explores the long-term evolutionary implications of the'Mobility Imperative:'the foundational nature of mobility for human beings and their societies. The author puts forward a parsimonious but comprehensive model based on Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) rationales. The selected case studies range from the emergence and expansion of humans to cattle domestication and beyond.

When we think about society and culture, often we think of our own culture – the culture in which we were raised or currently live – as the default. The eleventh edition of The Tapestry of Culture uses anthropological tools to translate the concepts, ideas, and behaviors of other cultures into language recognizable by today's students. The book's comparative approach balances the history of ethnography, fieldwork, and anthropological with today's globalized world, including the impact of climate change, social movements, social media and technology, global health issues, and shifting political landscapes. New to the Eleventh EditionNew Chapter 12, “Global Health and Wellness,” examines the historical, political, and cultural issues that shape disease and health including inequalities in access to physical and mental health services, the delivery of health care services, and health intervention strategiesNew Chapter 11, “Spaces and Places of Creative Expression,” explores how social media and internet technologies play a major role in how contemporary audiences view and understand creativity including music, dance, theater, film, painting and other performance stylesExpanded discussion of the cultural construction of gender and sexuality, as well as LGBTQ issues in activism explores gender and sexuality through queer studies and in postcolonial settings (Chapter 7)New discussion of critical race theory highlights its contributions to analyzing multiple forms of racism and discrimination while providing an exploration of the challenges of multiculturalism in contexts of nationality, ethnicity, and political representation (Chapter 14)New discussions of environmental anthropology, political ecology, climate change inequality, social movements, globalization, and transnationalism highlight these contemporary issues as subjects of anthropological inquiry (Chapter 1)

The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins examines ways in which the chimpanzee referential model has exerted a primary influence on evolutionary theory, dominating portraits of proto- and early human social life, and in the broader sense, of human nature itself. Evidence on which this model is based is revisited, along with new cross-disciplinary findings that point to alternative scenarios for hominin phylogeny, ecology and subsistence, primeval kinship, cognition and language, and the respective roles played by aggression and cooperation as evolutionary drivers. Recent advances in phylogenetics, evolutionary biology, and new additions to the fossil record are rendering linear, monotypic models obsolete. Contemporary theories on species divergence and change over time are shifting attention from ancient genotypes to factors that influence gene expression, and from innate prescriptive behaviors to epigenesis and the capacity for behavioral plasticity. This broader platform has the potential to fundamentally revise current notions about the basic nature, phenotypic traits, and lifeways of ancestral humans. It informs a different profile of our progenitors—one that reflects greater ecological bandwidth, reliance on creative niche construction, and hominin agency in the structuring of ancient reproductive and social groups.

This is an introduction to human prehistory written for complete beginners with a global perspective. It is written in a jargon-free style that covers 6 million years of the remote past from human origins to the first pre-industrial civilizations, balancing theoretical discussion with descriptions and analysis of major sites and cultural developments.World Prehistory provides a unique and balanced narrative of what happened in the prehistoric past and why. The book is well worth acquiring, as it provides essential historical background to a wide variety of subjects, from written history and environmental studies to climate change. Chronological tables, numerous illustrations, guides to further reading, and stand-alone boxes on some archaeological methods, key sites, and some people of the past amplify much of the basic narrative. This global prehistory is aimed at people with no background in archaeology, undergraduates at all levels, and participants in graduate seminars on a wide range of subjects. Numerous people with a general interest in archaeology and multidisciplinary history have acquired and enjoyed this book.

Sustainable development is a process to improve the quality of life of people, while maintaining the ability of social–ecological systems to continue to provide valuable ecological services that social systems require. In the Galapagos Islands, the maintenance of amenity resources to support tourism and the quality of life of residents is explicitly linked to ecosystem goods and services, particularly, the accessibility to high-quality natural environments and the terrestrial and marine visitation sites that showcase iconic species.On June 26-30, 2022, the Galapagos Science Center celebrated its 10-Year Anniversary. As the crowning event of the anniversary celebration, the World Summit on Island Sustainability was held on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos Archipelago of Ecuador. The intent of the World Summit was to bring together leading experts on island ecosystems and, particularly, on island sustainability from across the globe to represent a diversity of perspectives, approaches, and stakeholder groups. The World Summit was an exclusive event that featured an “expert convening” of scholars and practitioners to address the social, terrestrial, and marine sub-systems of the Galapagos Islands and other similarly challenged island ecosystems from around the globe. The World Summit attracted 150 scientists to the Galapagos Islands to discuss projects conducted, for instance, in the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Guam, French Polynesia, Chile, Australia, and the Caribbean Islands. Island vulnerability, resilience, and sustainability were examined by scholars, for instance, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Catholic University of Chile, University of Guam, James Cook University, University of the Sunshine Coast, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, California Academy of Sciences, University of San Francisco, and the University of South Alabama aswell as affiliated scientists from Exeter University, University of Edinburgh, University of Southampton, and the Galapagos National Park. The World Summit also included scholars from Re:wild, World Wildlife Fund, EarthEcho, and the East-West Center, Hawaii.

People of the Earth is a narrative account of the prehistory of humankind from our origins over 6 million years ago to the first pre-industrial states, beginning about 5,000 years ago. This is a global prehistory, which covers prehistoric times in every corner of the world in a jargon-free style for newcomers to archaeology. Many world histories begin with the first pre-industrial states. This book starts at the beginning of human history and summarizes the latest research into such major topics as human origins, the emergence and spread of modern humans, the first farming, and the origins of civilization.People of the Earth is unique in its even balance of the human past, its readily accessible style, and its flowing narrative that carries the reader through the long sweep of our past. The book is highly illustrated and features boxes and sidebars describing key dating methods and important archaeological sites.This classic world prehistory sets the standard for books on the subject and is the most widely used such textbook in the world. It is aimed at introductory students in archaeology and anthropology taking survey courses on the prehistoric past, as well as more advanced readers. It will also appeal to students of human responses to climatic and environmental change.

Humans have always faced the threat of extinction. This book takes a broad perspective of the ‘ extreme'conditions of human existence and survival to examine how extremes have forced humans to change and how such extremes have determined the nature of society. This volume in The Evolution of Human Sociality series is the fourth (and final) book in a collaborative research project between primatologists and anthropologists. In seeking to understand human sociality, twenty-one authors focus on states of extremity and the ways in which they are perceived and confronted by humans and primates. The contributors consider, among other topics, the'extremes'of urbanization and the disappearance of village societies; the'extremes'of climate change, the Anthropocene, and the extinction of the human species; the'extreme'of human birth; the'extreme'of the absence of mothers for infant chimpanzees; and the ‘ extreme'of radiation disaster. On a more theoretical level, the book illustrates what happens at the moment when humans and primates choose their actions to survive under the pressure of extremes, as well as the mechanisms at the ‘ tipping'points of their action selection.

Pushing Boundaries in Southwestern Archaeology draws together the proceedings from the sixteenth biennial Southwest Symposium. In exploring the conference theme, contributors consider topics ranging from the resuscitation of archaeomagnetic dating to the issue of Athapaskan origins, from collections-based studies of social identity, foodways, and obsidian trade to the origins of a rock art tradition and the challenges of a deeply buried archaeological record. The first of the volume's four sections examines the status, history, and prospects of Bears Ears National Monument, the broader regulatory and political boundaries that complicate the nature and integrity of the archaeological record, and the cultural contexts and legal stakes of archaeological inquiry. The second section focuses on chronological “big data” in the context of pre-Columbian history and the potential and limits of what can be empirically derived from chronometric analysis of the past. The chapters in the third section advocate for advancing collections-based research, focusing on the vast and often untapped research potential of archives, previously excavated museum collections, and legacy data. The final section examines the permeable boundaries involved in Plains-Pueblo interactions, obvious in the archaeological record but long in need of analysis, interpretation, and explanation. Contributors: James R. Allison, Erin Baxter, Benjamin A. Bellorado, Katelyn J. Bishop, Eric Blinman, J. Royce Cox, J. Andrew Darling, Kaitlyn E. Davis, William H. Doelle, B. Sunday Eiselt, Leigh Anne Ellison, Josh Ewing, Samantha G. Fladd, Gary M. Feinman, Jeffrey R. Ferguson, Severin Fowles, Willie Grayeyes, Matthew Guebard, Saul L. Hedquist, Greg Hodgins, Lucas Hoedl, John W. Ives, Nicholas Kessler, Terry Knight, Michael W. Lindeman, Hannah V. Mattson, Myles R. Miller, Lindsay Montgomery, Stephen E. Nash, Sarah Oas, Jill Onken, Scott G. Ortman, Danielle J. Riebe, John Ruple, Will G. Russell, Octavius Seowtewa, Deni J. Seymour, James M. Vint, Adam S. Watson

This book reviews all the findings about bonobos and the local people of Wamba village in the Luo Scientific Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the last 50 years. In 1973, Takayoshi Kano, a Japanese primatologist, traveled across a vast area of the Congo Basin with a bicycle and found Wamba village to be a promising site to start his first studies on wild bonobos. Since then, many researchers from Japan and all over the world have been working at Wamba, now the longest standing study site, to uncover various aspects of the ecology and behavior of this most recently identified great ape species. The researchers study bonobo behaviors and carry out various activities for the conservation of bonobos. They also conduct anthropological studies of local people who live with bonobos and believe them to be distant relatives from the same family, living in the forest. This book is published in commemoration of 2023 marking the 50th year of study. The main chapters are contributed by active researchers studying bonobos and the local people at Wamba. The book also includes contributions from various eminent researchers who have carried out short-term research or have supported research at Wamba, which helps place these studies of bonobos in a broader primatological or anthropological perspective. This book will be a useful resource for professional researchers in primatology and anthropology, as well as graduate or undergraduate students interested in these research fields.

The study of paleopathology has two very different constituencies, the medical scientist and the zoologist/paleontologist/anthropologist. Their investigative procedures and professional jargon are different, sometimes to the point of mutual incomprehensibility. Paleontologists/anthropologists/zoologists have a limited data base for the characterization and interpretation of pathology. This must come from the human and veterinary medical experience.What, beyond intellectual satisfaction, can the health care community expect from this relationship? The past history of the appearance and dispersal of infectious disease and cancer is of considerable theoretical importance and leads to new insights on the nature and transmission of diseases that are otherwise ambiguous. The discovery of rheumatoid arthritis in pre-Columbian North America exemplifies insights gained.The current effort delineates osseous impact of disease (as manifest in clinical populations diagnosed in life), representation in the zoologic, paleontologic and anthropologic record, and assessment techniques that can be confidently applied. The chapters form “columns” that provide the foundation for scientific critical thinking. The actual integration of the information is in its application. Our purpose is to provide a data base and atlas of actually documented skeletal impact of diseases (as population phenomenon), an initial data base of reported skeletal pathology, and a methodology for expanding this to new arenas.The first section of the book examines the scientific basis of paleopathology, its transition from speculation-based musings, resolution of misconceptions and the denouement of paleo-epidemiology. The second section provides holistic analysis of the gamut of pathology/diseases with significant skeletal impact, with a validated archeologic/zoological/paleontological record. The third section provides a glossary to resolve the semantic challenges inherent to interdisciplinary efforts. The fourth section provides an atlas of pathology representation in the fossil record. Ultimately, this book intends to present a scientifically-validated approach to recognition of disease in the archeological, zoological and paleontological record, superseding previous speculation-based offerings.

This handbook showcases an Africa-wide compendium of Stone Age archaeological sites and methodological advances that have improved our understanding of hominin lifeways and biogeography in the continent. The focal time spans the Pleistocene Epoch (c. 2.5 million–11,700 years ago) during which important human traits, such as obligate bipedalism that freed the hands to engage in creative activities, a large brain relative to body size, language, and social complexity, developed in the general forms that they are found today. The handbook is the first of its kind, and it is expected to play a significant role in human evolutionary research by:❖ Collating the African Stone Age record, which exists in a fragmented state along the lines of national boundaries and colonial experiences.❖ Showcasing emerging conceptual and methodological advances in African Pleistocene archaeology.❖ Providing reference datasets for teaching and researching African prehistory.❖ Making Africa's Stone Age record accessible to researchers and students based in Africa who may not have access to journal publications where most new field discoveries are published.The Handbook features 128 chapters, of which 116 are site entries grouped by the host countries and presented in an alphabetical order. A number of those site-related entries examine multiple archaeological localities lumped under specific projects or study areas. The rest of the contributions deal with methodological topics, such as luminescence and radiocarbon dating, field data recovery, lithic analysis, micromorphology, and hominin fossil and zooarchaeological records of Pleistocene Africa. The introductory chapter provides an historical overview of the development of Stone Age (Paleolithic) archaeology in Africa beginning in the mid-19th century, and paleoenvironmental and chronological frameworks commonly used to structure the continent's Pleistocene record. By making a good amount of AfricanStone Age literature accessible to researchers and the public, we wish to promote interest in human evolutionary research in the continent and elsewhere.

Humans is a concise, jargon-free introduction to four-field anthropology. This book outlines and breaks down a complex discipline to identify some of the most important and relevant questions in anthropology. It provides students with an understanding of the unity of the human species, the adaptation of societies to their environments (physical and political), and an appreciation of the power of socialization into a culture.The authors ensure that the book takes a balanced approach to all four fields, covering topics such as cultural relativism, humans as a biological species, primates, communicating, economics, and religion. Pedagogical features include a study guide and notes for instructors. This second edition is fully updated with brand new material on evolution, genetics, and archaeology to reflect the latest research and recent changes in the field. This book is an ideal introduction for students embarking on an anthropology course for the first time.

A richly illustrated journey through the evolution of Africa's extraordinary natural world across deep timeOrigin Africa is a unique introduction to the natural history and evolution of the most misrepresented continent on Earth. Celebrated evolutionary biologist and artist Jonathan Kingdon, a leading expert on the natural history of Africa, tells this extraordinary story as no one else can. Featuring a wealth of photographs and illustrations, the book is both a visual and narrative feast.Africa is the richest continent, containing every habitat from desert to tropical forest and the widest range of plants and animals found anywhere. It has experienced extraordinary climate fluctuations, meteor bombardment, and cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. Yet life has not only survived but evolved almost countless species. One group of primates evolved out of this crucible and moved out of Africa to dominate every continent on Earth. Africa has properties that ensure that most of human evolution couldn't have occurred anywhere else.A fascinating story told as never before, Origin Africa chronicles how the natural conditions of Africa enabled a spectacular evolution of plants and animals, including Homo sapiens.

Stories of the primordial woman who married a bear, appear in matriarchal traditions across the global North from Indigenous North America and Scandinavia to Russia and Korea. In The Woman Who Married the Bear, authors Barbara Alice Mann, a scholar of Indigenous American culture, and Kaarina Kailo, who specializes in the cultures of Northern Europe, join forces to examine these Woman-Bear stories, their common elements, and their meanings in the context of matriarchal culture. The authors reach back 35,000 years to tease out different threads of Indigenous Woman-Bear traditions, using the lens of bear spirituality to uncover the ancient matriarchies found in rock art, caves, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions. Across cultures, in the earliest known traditions, women and bears are shown to collaborate through star configurations and winter cave-dwelling, symbolized by the spring awakening from hibernation followed by the birth of “cubs.” By the Bronze Age, however, the story of the Woman-Bear marriage had changed: it had become a hunting tale, refocused on the male hunter. Throughout the book, Mann and Kailo offer interpretations of this earliest known Bear religion in both its original and its later forms. Together, they uncover the maternal cultural symbolism behind the bear marriage and the Original Instructions given by Bear to Woman on sustainable ecology and lifeways free of patriarchy and social stratification.

This important volume includes key papers which outline the history, concepts, research findings and recent controversies in medical anthropology - the cross-cultural study of health, illness and medical care. Among the topics covered are transcultural psychiatry, food and nutrition, anthropology of the body, alcohol and drug use, traditional healers, childbirth and bereavement and the applications of medical anthropology to international health issues, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria prevention and family planning. It is a valuable resource not only for scholars and students of medical anthropology but also for health professionals working in multi-cultural settings, or in international medical aid programmes.

The interest in primates, from lemurs to gorillas, has never been greater. Primatologists are continually finding evidence in the behavior and ecology of our closest genetic relatives that sheds light on human origins. So, just who are these 520+ species of complex and intelligent mammals inhabiting the Neotropics, Africa, Madagascar, and Asia? The Natural History of Primates provides the most current information on wild primates from experts who have studied them in their natural environments. This volume provides up-to-date facts and figures on how groups of social primates interact with each other and the plants and other animal species in their ecosystems: what they eat, which predators might eat them, how males and females seek mates, how infants are raised, and myriad other fascinating details about their visual and vocal communication, their ability to craft and use tools, and the varieties of locomotion they employ. As human populations continue to expand into the rainforests, savannas, and woodlands where nonhuman primates dwell, the preservation of these species becomes ever more important. The Natural History of Primates is unique in its emphasis on the conservation status of primate species and its ample discussions of how humans and nonhuman primates can coexist in the twenty-first century.

Gender at the Crossroads of Knowledge brings feminist anthropology up to date, highlighting the theoretical sophistication that characterizes recent research. Twelve essays by outstanding scholars, written with the volume's concerns specifically in mind, range across the broadest anthropological terrain, assessing and contributing to feminist work on biological anthropology, primate studies, global economy, new reproductive technologies, ethno-linguistics, race and gender, and more. The editor's introduction not only sets two decades of feminist anthropological work in the multiple contexts of changes in anthropological theory and practice, political and economic developments, and larger intellectual shifts, but also lays out the central insights feminist anthropology has to offer us in the postmodern era. The profound issues raised by the authors resonate with the basic interests of any discipline concerned with gender, that is, all of the social sciences and humanities.Gender at the Crossroads of Knowledge brings feminist anthropology up to date, highlighting the theoretical sophistication that characterizes recent research. Twelve essays by outstanding scholars, written with the volume's concerns specifically in