Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin continue the pioneering field work of Louis and Mary Leakey by fitting together the pieces of our past to discover new answers to these age-old questions. The authors explore our long-buried past--from the feral roots of humanity, through the eons of time, to society today, replete with its wonders and anomalies--searcing for valuable insights into the future of modern society.
In this vast survey of human origins and evolution, Leakey and Lewin present intriguing scientific information in such a way that...
Where did we come from? Where are we going?
Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin continue the pioneering field work of Louis and Mary Leakey by fit...
Richard Leakey, One Of The World's Foremost Experts On Man's Evolutionary Past, Now Turns His Eye To The Future And Doesn't Like What He Sees. To the philosophical the earth is eternal, while the human race -- presumptive keeper of the world's history -- is a mere speck in the rich stream of life. It is known that nothing upon Earth is forever; geography, climate, and plant and animal life are all subject to radical change. On five occasions in the past, catastrophic natural events have caused mass extinctions on Earth. But today humans stand alone, in dubious distinction, among...
Richard Leakey, One Of The World's Foremost Experts On Man's Evolutionary Past, Now Turns His Eye To The Future And Doesn't Like What He Sees. ...
"The name Leakey is synonymous with the study of human origins," wrote The New York Times. The renowned family of paleontologists--Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, and their son Richard Leakey--has vastly expanded our understanding of human evolution. The Origin of Humankind is Richard Leakey's personal view of the development of Homo Sapiens. At the heart of his new picture of evolution is the introduction of a heretical notion: once the first apes walked upright, the evolution of modern humans became possible and perhaps inevitable. From this one evolutionary step comes all the...
"The name Leakey is synonymous with the study of human origins," wrote The New York Times. The renowned family of paleontologists--Louis Leakey...
There are some issues in human paleontology that seem to be timeless. Most deal with the origin and early evolution of our own genus something about which we should care. Some of these issues pertain to taxonomy and systematics. How many species of Homo were there in the Pliocene and Pleistocene? How do we identify the earliest members the genus Homo? If there is more than one Plio-Pleistocene species, how do they relate to one another, and where and when did they evolve? Other issues relate to questions about body size, proportions and the functional adaptations of the locomotor skeleton....
There are some issues in human paleontology that seem to be timeless. Most deal with the origin and early evolution of our own genus something about w...
Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Australopithecus africanus, in 1925. This volume synthesizes the geological and paleontological context of the species in East and South Africa; covers individual sites, such as Dikika, Hadar, Sterkfontein, and Malapa; debates the alpha taxonomy of some of the species; and addresses questions regarding the movements of the species across the continent. Additional chapters discuss the genus in terms of sexual dimorphism, diet reconstruction using...
Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Austral...
Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Australopithecus africanus, in 1925. This volume synthesizes the geological and paleontological context of the species in East and South Africa; covers individual sites, such as Dikika, Hadar, Sterkfontein, and Malapa; debates the alpha taxonomy of some of the species; and addresses questions regarding the movements of the species across the continent. Additional chapters discuss the genus in terms of sexual dimorphism, diet reconstruction using...
Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Austral...