With the same unparalleled art and inquiry-based pedagogy as the best-selling Our Origins, Essentials of Physical Anthropology is the ideal text for focusing students’ attention on what really matters and why. Author Clark Larsen, one of the world’s leading physical anthropologists, has worked hard to develop a tight narrative, covering only the most pertinent, most up-to-date information that students should know. Pedagogical features in every chapter keep students focused on the core concepts and “big questions” in physical anthropology. An extensive art program, including figures, photos, maps, and bubble captions, brings concepts to life.
Author(s): Clark Spencer Larsen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 433
Tags: Антропология;Физическая (биологическая) антропология;
Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 4
Title Page......Page 5
DEDICATION......Page 6
ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 9
BASIC CONTENTS......Page 11
CONTENTS......Page 12
TO THE INSTRUCTOR......Page 25
WHO HELPED......Page 27
TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING......Page 29
TO THE STUDENT......Page 31
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?......Page 37
What Is Anthropology?......Page 38
What Is Physical Anthropology?......Page 39
What Do Physical Anthropologists Do?......Page 41
What Is So Different about Humans from Other Animals?: The Six Steps to Humanness......Page 43
How We Know What We Know: The Scientific Method......Page 47
Key Terms......Page 50
Additional Readings......Page 51
PART I: THE PRESENT: FOUNDATION FOR THE PAST......Page 53
CHAPTER 2 EVOLUTION: CONSTRUCTING A FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC THEORY......Page 55
BIG QUESTIONS......Page 56
The Theory of Evolution: The Context for Darwin......Page 57
CONCEPT CHECK: Pre-Darwinian Theory and Ideas: Groundwork for Evolution......Page 61
CONCEPT CHECK: Darwin Borrows from Malthus......Page 62
The Theory of Evolution: Darwin’s Contribution......Page 64
Since Darwin: Mechanisms of Inheritance, the Evolutionary Synthesis, and the Discovery of DNA......Page 66
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS......Page 72
Additional Readings......Page 73
CHAPTER 3 GENETICS: REPRODUCING LIFE AND PRODUCING VARIATION......Page 75
The Cell: Its Role in Reproducing Life and Producing Variation......Page 76
The DNA Molecule: The Genetic Code......Page 78
The DNA Molecule: Replicating the Code......Page 81
Mitosis: Production of Identical Somatic Cells......Page 82
Meiosis: Production of Gametes (Sex Cells)......Page 84
Producing Proteins: The Other Function of DNA......Page 87
CONCEPT CHECK: The Two Steps of Protein Synthesis......Page 89
Polymorphisms: Variations in Specific Genes......Page 92
The Complexity of Genetics: Polygenic Variation and Pleiotropy......Page 96
Key Terms......Page 98
Additional Readings......Page 99
CHAPTER 4 GENES AND THEIR EVOLUTION: POPULATION GENETICS......Page 101
Demes, Reproductive Isolation, and Species......Page 102
Hardy-Weinberg Law: Testing the Conditions of Genetic Equilibrium......Page 104
Mutation: The Only Source of New Alleles......Page 107
Natural Selection: Advantageous Characteristics, Survival, and Reproduction......Page 110
Genetic Drift: Genetic Change Due to Chance......Page 119
Gene Flow: Spread of Genes across Population Boundaries......Page 122
CONCEPT CHECK: What Causes Evolution?......Page 124
Key Terms......Page 126
Additional Readings......Page 127
CHAPTER 5 BIOLOGY IN THE PRESENT: LIVING PEOPLE......Page 129
Is Race a Valid, Biologically Meaningful Concept?......Page 130
Life History: Growth and Development......Page 132
CONCEPT CHECK: Life History Stages in Humans: Prenatal, Postnatal, and Adult......Page 138
Adaptation: Meeting the Challenges of Living......Page 139
CONCEPT CHECK: Adaptation: Heat, Cold, Solar Radiation, High Altitude......Page 145
CONCEPT CHECK: Nutritional Adaptation......Page 151
Key Terms......Page 154
Additional Readings......Page 155
CHAPTER 6 BIOLOGY IN THE PRESENT: THE OTHER LIVING PRIMATES......Page 157
What Is a Primate?......Page 158
CONCEPT CHECK: What Makes Primates Good at Living in Trees?......Page 166
CONCEPT CHECK: What Gives Primates Their Dietary Flexibility?......Page 169
CONCEPT CHECK: Primate Parenting......Page 170
What Are the Kinds of Primates?......Page 171
CONCEPT CHECK: Prosimians and Anthropoids Differ in Their Anatomy and Senses......Page 182
Primate Societies: Diverse, Complex, Long-Lasting......Page 183
CONCEPT CHECK: Male and Female Reproductive Strategies......Page 189
Getting Food: Everybody Needs It, but the Burden Is on Mom......Page 191
Acquiring Resources and Transmitting Knowledge: Got Culture?......Page 192
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS......Page 194
Additional Readings......Page 195
PART II: THE PAST: EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENT......Page 197
CHAPTER 7 FOSSILS AND THEIR PLACE IN TIME AND NATURE......Page 199
BIG QUESTIONS......Page 200
Fossils: Memories of the Biological Past......Page 202
Just How Old Is the Past?......Page 205
CONCEPT CHECK: How Old Is It?......Page 219
Reconstruction of Ancient Environments and Landscapes......Page 221
Key Terms......Page 226
Additional Readings......Page 227
CHAPTER 8 PRIMATE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION: THE FIRST 50,000,000 YEARS......Page 229
Why Primates?......Page 230
The First True Primate: Visual, Tree-Dwelling, Agile, Smart......Page 232
The Fate of the Euprimates......Page 236
CONCEPT CHECK: When Were They Primates?: Anatomy through Time......Page 238
Coming to America: Origin of New World Higher Primates......Page 241
Apes Begin in Africa and Dominate the Miocene Primate World......Page 242
Apes Leave Africa: On to New Habitats and New Adaptations......Page 245
Apes Return to Africa?......Page 249
Monkeys on the Move......Page 250
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS......Page 252
Additional Readings......Page 253
CHAPTER 9 EARLY HOMINID ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION: THE ROOTS OF HUMANITY......Page 255
BIG QUESTIONS......Page 256
What Is a Hominid?......Page 257
Why Hominids?......Page 260
Who Were the First Hominids?......Page 264
CONCEPT CHECK: The Pre-Australopithecines......Page 268
CONCEPT CHECK: The Australopithecines......Page 280
Additional Readings......Page 283
CHAPTER 10 THE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF EARLY HOMO......Page 285
BIG QUESTIONS......Page 286
Homo habilis: The First Species of the Genus Homo......Page 287
CONCEPT CHECK: Homo habilis: The First Member of Our Lineage......Page 290
Homo erectus: Early Homo Goes Global......Page 291
CONCEPT CHECK: Homo erectus: Beginning Globalization......Page 304
Additional Readings......Page 305
CHAPTER 11 THE ORIGINS, EVOLUTION, AND DISPERSAL OF MODERN PEOPLE......Page 307
What Is So Modern about Modern Humans?......Page 308
Modern Homo sapiens: Single Origin and Global Dispersal or Regional Continuity?......Page 309
What Do Homo sapiens Fossils Tell Us about Modern Human Origins?......Page 311
CONCEPT CHECK: Archaic Homo sapiens......Page 326
How Has the Biological Variation in Fossil Homo sapiens Been Interpreted?......Page 337
CONCEPT CHECK: Early Modern Homo sapiens......Page 339
Assimilation Model for Modern Human Variation: Neandertals Are Still with Us......Page 340
CONCEPT CHECK: Models for Explaining Modern Homo sapiens’ Origins......Page 341
Modern Humans’ Other Migrations: Colonization of Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas......Page 342
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS......Page 348
Additional Readings......Page 349
CHAPTER 12 OUR LAST 10,000 YEARS: AGRICULTURE, POPULATION, BIOLOGY......Page 351
The Agricultural Revolution: New Foods, New Adaptations......Page 352
Agriculture: An Adaptive Trade-Off......Page 359
CONCEPT CHECK: The Good and Bad of Agriculture......Page 361
How Did Agriculture Affect Human Biological Change?......Page 362
CONCEPT CHECK: Soft Food and Biological Change......Page 364
CONCEPT CHECK: Labor, Lifestyle, and Adaptation in the Skeleton......Page 368
CONCEPT CHECK: Health Costs of Agriculture......Page 373
The Past Is Our Future......Page 374
Our Ongoing Evolution......Page 375
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS......Page 377
Additional Readings......Page 378
GLOSSARY......Page 379
GLOSSARY OF PLACE NAMES......Page 386
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 388
PERMISSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 410
INDEX......Page 413
