Debating Humankind's Place in Nature, 1860-2000: The Nature of Paleoanthropology

ISBN-13: 9780131773905 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 462 str.

Richard G. Delisle

Opis

This text, the only one of its kind on the market, surveys the development of the field of human evolution from its inception through today. It provides students with a broad contrast enabling them to fully understand the value and role of current paleoanthropological research. Features:

• An historical approach - Establishes for students the nature of paleoanthropology through the historical development of the field from 1860 through 2000 and shows students that paleoanthropology is a remarkably progressive field..
• A focus on the debates in the field of human evolution (especially the phylogenetic or genealogical debates)-
• Analyzes four distinct debates, presented separately from their inception to the present: 1) Humankind's place among the primates; 2) The place of the australopithecines relative to the human line; 3) Debates on human phylogeny proper; 4) Proposed scenarios of hominization.
• Presentation and analysis of the viewpoints of over 150 scholars - Gives students a valuable reference work for the future (includes over 1200 references in the bibliography) as well as a comprehensive text for today.

For junior/senior courses in Human Evolution and Paleoanthropology in Anthropology departments.

Spis treści

1. The History of Paleoanthropology.
I. A SYNTHESIS OF APPROACHES TO HUMAN EVOLUTION, 1860-1890.
  2. Comparative Anatomy.
  3. The Human Fossil Record.
II. COMPETING APPROACHES TO HUMAN EVOLUTION, 1890-1935.
  4. Primate Phylogeny.
  5. Human Phylogeny.
III. TOWARD THE MODERN RESEARCH STRUCTURE IN PALEOANTHROPOLOGY, 1935-2000.
  6. The Constriction of Human Phylogenetic Hypothesis, 1935-1950.
  7. Primate Phylogeny, 1935-1965.
  8. The Place of the Australopithecines, 1925-1965.
  9. Human Phylogeny, 1950-1965.
10. Primate and Human Phylogeny, 1965-2000.
11. The Nature of Paleoanthropology.
Chapter Notes.
Biographical Appendix.
References.
Index

O autorze

Richard G. Delisle has earned two doctorates—one in philosophy of science from the Université de Montréal and the other in paleoanthropology from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa—but, at the same time, he likes to get his hands dirty. He has worked on archeological digs in the south of France and paleontological excavations in the western United States.