Basics in Human Evolution

About this book

Basics in Human Evolution offers a broad view of evolutionary biology and medicine. The book is written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field. From evolutionary theory, to the cultural evolution, Basics in Human Evolution fills gaps in the readers' knowledge from various backgrounds and introduces readers to thought leaders in human evolution research.

Contents

Introduction

Part I Positioning Human Evolution
1. Basic Evolutionary Theory / Doug Futuyma
2. Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design / Andrew Petto

Part II Primates
3. Primate Evolution / Robert Martin
4. Primate Comparative Anatomy / Rui Diogo, Magdalena Muchlinski, and Adam Hartstone-Rose
5. Primate Behavior / David Watts
6. Primate Models of Human Evolution / Robert Sussman and Donna Hart

Part III Hominins
7. Early Hominin Ecology / Jeanne Sept
8. Bipedalism / Kevin Hunt
9. Early Hominins / Kevin Hunt
10. Australopithecines / Carol Ward
11. Early Homo / Scott Simpson
12. Archaic Homo / James Ahern
13. Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens / Brigitte Holt
14. Evolution of Tool Use / Kathy Schick and Nick Toth

Part IV Genetics and Biology
15. Contemporary Human Genetic Variation / John Relethford
16. Population Movements / Oscar Lao and Manfred Kayser
17. Brain Evolution / Ralph Holloway
18. Physiological Adaptations to Environmental Stressors / William Leonard
19. Evolution of Skin Color / Peter Elias and Mary Williams
20. Human Growth and Development / Barry Bogin
21. Human Reproductive Ecology / Claudia Valeggia and Alejandra Núñez-de la Mora
22. Human Senescence / Lynnette Leidy Sievert

Part V Lifeways
23. Hunter-Gatherers / Michael Little and Mark Blumler
24. Pastoralism / Michael Little
25. Agriculturalism / Mark Blumler

Part VI Health
26. Early Development and Disease / Felicia Low, Peter Gluckman, and Mark Hanson
27. Modernization and Disease / William Dressler
28. Modern Human Diet / Andrea Wiley
29. Diversity and Origins of Human Infectious Diseases / Serge Morand
30. Coevolution of Humans and Pathogens / Lisa Sattenspiel
31. Bioarcheology / Della Cook

Part VII Behavior and Culture
32. Evolutionary Biology of Human Stress / Carol Worthman
33. Aggression, Affiliation, and Parenting / Mark Flinn
34. Human Mating Systems / Steven Gangestad and Nicholas Grebe
35. Evolution of Cognition / Jennifer Vonk and Chinmay Aradhye
36. Evolution of Language / Philip Lieberman
37. Evolution of Moral Systems / Douglas Allchin
38. Race and Ethnicity / Catherine Bliss
39. Cultural Evolution / Robert Walker

Customer Reviews

Biography

Michael P. Muehlenbein is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned an MsPH in both Tropical Medicine and Biostatistics from Tulane University, and an MPhil and PhD in Biological Anthropology from Yale University. He is a distinguished and prolific author and his research includes a number of different topics, from evolutionary endocrinology and ecological immunology to conservation medicine. He is currently working on understanding life history trade-offs between the immune and reproductive systems in primates, as well as risks of emerging infectious diseases associated with contact between humans and wild primate populations.