Comparative studies have become both more frequent and more important as a means for understanding the biology, behavior, and evolution of mammals. Primates have complex social relationships and diverse ecologies, and represent a large species radiation. This book draws together a wide range of experts from diverse fields, such as reproductive biology and foraging energetics, to place recent field research into a synthetic perspective. The chapters tackle controversial issues in primate biology and behavior, including the role of brain expansion and infanticide in the evolution of primate...

Many aspects of human activity involve energy transfer of some type. Human Energetics in Biological Anthropology examines some of the ways in which measurements of energy intake, expenditure and balance have been used to study human populations by biological anthropologists and human biologists. The book provides an integration of human adaptation and adaptability approaches, placing these issues in an ecological context by considering traditional subsistence economies in the developing world. This is the first volume to present such an integrated approach, and will be useful in the teaching...

Plasticity refers to the ability of many organisms to change their biology or behavior to respond to changes in the environment. Humans are probably the most plastic of all species, and hence the most variable. This is the first book to examine the history of research in this area and it provides information on state-of-the-art research methods and discoveries. It also maps out some areas of future research in human plasticity and variability. Topics discussed include child growth, starvation, diseases of both young and old, and the effects of migration, modernization and other life-style...

Primate Dentition provides a comparative dental anatomy of living non-human primates that brings together information from many disciplines to present the most useful and comprehensive database possible in one consolidated text. The core of the book consists of comparative morphological and metrical descriptions with analyses, reference tables, and illustrations of the permanent dentitions of 85 living primate species to establish a baseline for future investigations. The volume also discusses dental microstructure and its importance in understanding taxonomic relationships between species,...

This volume provides a thought-provoking, interdisciplinary perspective on the empirical and analytic study of body composition and the techniques used for measuring body components, such as fat, water, muscle, and bone mass and density. The nature of regional differences, developmental changes, pathological abnormalities, and the impact of heredity and environment in shaping body composition are discussed in the context of human evolution. For instance, the author looks at how growth, aging, and exposure to heat, cold, excess or lack of nourishment modify normal body composition.

This book is about doing field research - the obstacles that are faced and the strategies used.

The public is now paying considerable attention to the use of molecular evidence in studies of human diversity and origins. Much of the early work in this area was based on evidence from mitochondrial DNA, but this has now been supplemented by important new information from nuclear DNA from both Y chromosomes and the autosomes. The bulk of the material available is from living populations, but this is being extended by the study of DNA from archaic populations. The underlying models used in interpreting this evidence are based on the neutral theory of molecular evolution, but also consider...

New information about disease transmission, dietary and economic linkage, and the continuing international focus on conservation and primate research have created a surge of interest in primates, and focus on the diverse interaction of human and nonhuman primates has become an important component in primatological and ethnographic studies. By examining the diverse and fascinating range of relationships between humans and other primates and observing how this plays a critical role in conservation practice and programs, Primates Face to Face disseminates the information gained from the...

The unique contribution made by biological anthropology to human welfare lies in the fundamental understanding it can provide of the dynamic interrelationships between physical and social factors. By understanding these patterns, we can interpret the significance of variation in such measures of human well-being in terms of the incidence of disease and mortality rates. Topics covered in this book include reproductive ecology and fertility, nutritional status in relation to health, and the effects of pollution on individual growth. In later chapters, the concepts of physiological adaptation...

Migration and colonization are major forces affecting the frequency, spatial pattern and spread of genes in human populations. Here, Alan Fix reviews theories of migration developed by biologists and social scientists and surveys patterns of migration in a diverse sample of human populations. Using these empirical studies, he evaluates models of migration developed by population geneticists and explores more realistic models using computer simulation. He then shows the relevance of studies of migration as a microevolutionary process to the understanding of longer term global patterns of human...