-A required reading for anyone interested in the economy, ecology, and demography of human societies.- --American Journal of Human Biology -This excellent book can serve both as a text1/4book and as a scholarly reference.- --American Scientist

Evolutionary ecology has grown into an exciting and dynamic area of research in the biological sciences. Only recently, however, has there been noteworthy progress in adapting theory, concepts, and models from this fi eld for analysis of human behavior and evolution.

The relationship between human communities and the environment is extremely complex. In order to resolve the issues involved with this relationship, interdisciplinary research combining natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities is necessary. Here, specialists summarise methods and research strategies for various aspects of social research devoted to environmental issues. Each chapter is illustrated with ethnographic and environmental examples, ranging from Australia to Amazonia, from Madagascar to the United States, and from prehistoric and historic cases to contemporary rural and...