Humans Perspectives on Our Evolution from World Experts

About this book

How did humanity evolve? And what does our evolutionary history tell us about what it means to be human? These questions are fundamental to our identity as individuals and as a species and to our relationship with the world. But there are almost as many answers to them as there are scientists who study these topics.

This book brings together more than one hundred top experts, who share their insights on the study of human evolution and what it means for understanding our past, present, and future. Sergio Almécija asks leading figures across palaeontology, primatology, archaeology, genetics, and many other disciplines about their lives, their work, and the philosophical significance of human evolution. They reflect on questions that are both fun and profound: What set you down your career path? Are humans special? Where and when would you travel in a time machine? Does human evolution offer lessons for society? Is evolution compatible with spirituality and religion?

Humans features a remarkably accomplished cast of contributors, including Kay Behrensmeyer, Frans de Waal, Nina Jablonski, Richard Leakey, Robert Sapolsky, and Richard Wrangham. Together, they provide a refreshing, personable, engaging, cross-disciplinary, and thought-provoking exploration of different – even diametrically opposed – ideas about our nature and evolution, what makes humans unique, and what our future might hold. This book also offers practical suggestions for readers seeking to embark on a scientific career.

Contents

Preface: What Is This Book?
Introduction: User Manual
An Illustrated Guide to Human Evolution

Part I: Prelude
1. David Alba
2. Peter Andrews
3. David Begun
4. Brenda Benefit
5. Michael “Mike” Benton
6. Matt Cartmill
7. Yaowalak Chaimanee
8. Glenn Conroy
9. Simon Conway Morris
10. Eric Delson
11. Marc Furió
12. Dan Gebo
13. Jay Kelley
14. Yutaka Kunimatsu
15. Laura MacLatchy
16. Salvador Moyà-Solà
17. Masato Nakatsukasa
18. Martin Pickford
19. David Pilbeam

Part II: Beginnings
20. Leslie Aiello
21. Berhane Asfaw
22. Anna “Kay” Behrensmeyer
23. René Bobe
24. Tim Bromage
25. Jeremy “Jerry” DeSilva
26. Steve Frost
27. Yohannes Haile-Selassie
28. Ashley Hammond
29. Sonia Harmand
30. Ralph Holloway
31. Kevin D. Hunt
32. William “Bill” Kimbel
33. Fredrick “Kyalo” Manthi
34. Mary Marzke
35. Emma Mbua
36. Robyn Pickering
37. J. Michael “Mike” Plavcan
38. Kaye Reed
39. Brigitte Senut
40. Richard “Rich” Smith
41. David Strait
42. Randall “Randy” Susman
43. Peter Ungar
44. Carol Ward
45. Tim White
46. Bernard Wood

Part III: Becoming Human
47. Eudald Carbonell
48. Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
49. Dean Falk
50. Katerina Harvati
51. Yousuke Kaifu
52. Richard Klein
53. Carles Lalueza-Fox
54. Richard Leakey
55. Daniel “Dan” Lieberman
56. Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
57. Briana Pobiner
58. Marcia Ponce de León
59. Mary Prendergast
60. Lorenzo Rook
61. Antonio Rosas
62. Chris Ruff
63. Jeffrey “Jeff” Schwartz
64. John Shea
65. Tanya Smith
66. Ian Tattersall
67. Matt Tocheri
68. Milford Wolpoff
69. Christoph Zollikofer

Part IV: Now
70. Susana Carvalho
71. Frans de Waal
72. Rolando González-José
73. Kristen Hawkes
74. Leslea Hlusko
75. Sarah Hrdy
76. Nina Jablonski
77. Clifford “Cliff” Jolly
78. Jon Kaas
79. Leah Krubitzer
80. Susan Larson
81. Zarin Machanda
82. Tomàs Marquès-Bonet
83. Robert “Bob” Martin
84. Priya Moorjani
85. Mark Pagel
86. Herman Pontzer
87. Holger Preuschoft
88. Joan Richtsmeier
89. Robert Sapolsky
90. Chet Sherwood
91. Craig Stanford
92. Jack Stern
93. Andrea B. Taylor
94. Kenneth “Ken” Weiss
95. Richard Wrangham

Part V: Outro
96. Daniel Gilbert
97. Henry T. “Hank” Greely
98. Kevin Kelly
99. David Krakauer
100. Misia Landau
101. Geoffrey Miller
102. Eugenie “Genie” Scott
103. Anil Seth

Acknowledgments
Recommended Readings
Notes
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Sergio Almécija is a senior research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History.