Screen LibraryThe complete world of human evolution /
ARCHAEOLOGY. Human domination of our earth is now so complete that it is easy to forget how recently our role in the history of our planet began: the earliest apes evolved around 20 million years ago, yet homo sapiens has existed for a mere 160,000 years. In the intervening period, dozens of species...
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| Main Authors: | |
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| Published: |
Thames & Hudson, Inc.,
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| Publisher Address: | London : |
| Publication Dates: |
2014. ©2011 |
| Literature type: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Edition: | Second edition. |
| Subjects: | |
| Summary: |
ARCHAEOLOGY. Human domination of our earth is now so complete that it is easy to forget how recently our role in the history of our planet began: the earliest apes evolved around 20 million years ago, yet homo sapiens has existed for a mere 160,000 years. In the intervening period, dozens of species of early ape and human have lived and died out, leaving behind the fossilized remains that have helped to build up the detailed picture of our evolution revealed in this book, which has been thoroughly revised throughout and is newly available in paperback. It explores every aspect of the study of ape and human evolution in three accessible sections, lavishly illustrated throughout with photographs, diagrams, timelines and specially commissioned drawings. This compelling and authoritative account is essential reading for anyone interested in, or studying, the story of human origins. |
| Carrier Form: | 240 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 26 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: |
9780500288986 (paperback) : 0500288984 (paperback) |
| Index Number: | GN281 |
| CLC: | Q981.1 |
| Call Number: | Q981.1/S918-1/2nd ed. |
| Contents: | I. In search of our ancestors. Living apes and their environment ; Human variations ; Palaeoanthropology ; The geological timescale ; Dating the past ; Studying animal function ; Excavation and analytical techniques ; New techniques for studying fossils ; Taphonomy : how fossils are preserved ; What fossils tell us about ancient environments ; Changing climates ; Site I: Rusinga Island l Site II: Paşalar ; Site III: Rudabánya ; Site IV: Olduvai Gorge ; Site V: Boxgrove ; Site VI: Gibraltar -- II. The fossil evidence. Origin of the primates ; Early anthropoids ; What makes an ape? ; Ancestral apes ; Proconsul and its contemporaries ; Middle Miocene African apes ; The exit from Africa ; Ankarapithecus : a fossil enigma ; Orangutan ancestors ; The ancestry of the living apes ; Late Miocene apes and early human ancestors ; Australopithecus africanus ; Robust Australopithecines ; The origins of humans ; Early homo ; Homo erectus ; Models of recent human evolution ; The early occupation of Europe : Gran Dolina ; Homo heidelbergensis ; Atapuerca and the origin of Neanderthals ; The Neanderthals ; Africa : homeland of Homo sapiens? ; Asia : corridor or cul-de-sac? ; What happened to the Neanderthals? ; The Cro-Magnons ; The first Australians ; Homo floresiensis ; Genetic data on human evolution ; Mitochondrial DNA ; Neanderthal DNA -- III. Interpreting the evidence. The evolution of locomotion in apes and humans ; The evolution of feeding ; The geographical spread of apes and humans ; The first Americans ; Evolution and behaviour in relation to the environment ; Tools and human behaviour : earliest evidence ; Tools and human behaviour : Middle Palaeolithic ; Tools and human behaviour : Upper Palaeolithic ; The first artists ; Reconstructing ancient human behaviour 1 ; Reconstructing ancient human behaviour 2 ; An overview of human origins. |