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The Emergence of Humans is an accessible, informative introduction to the scientific study of human evolution. It takes the reader through time following the emergence of the modern human species Homo sapiens from primate roots. Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the interpretation of the fossil record, the authors present a balanced approach in an effort to do justice to different views.
Each chapter covers a significant time period of evolutionary history and includes relevant techniques from other disciplines that have applications to the field of human evolution. Self-assessment questions linked to learning outcomes are provided for each chapter, together with further reading and reference to key sources in the primary literature. The book will thus be effective both as a conventional textbook and for independent study.
Written by two authors with a wealth of teaching experience The Emergence of Humans will prove invaluable to students in the biological and natural sciences needing a clear, balanced introduction to the study of human evolution.
List of contents
1. The First Human Fossils
2. The Geological Context
3. Evolution and Natural Selection
4. 65-50 million years ago: The Primates
5. 50-9 million years ago: Anthropoids and hominoids
6. 8-4.4 million years ago: Who were the ancestors of the hominins?
7. 4.2 - 3.0 million years ago: Adaptive radiation of hominins
8. 3.0-1.0 million years ago: Emergence and diversification of the genus Homo
9. 1.0 million years ago - 700,000 years ago
10. 700,000 - 130,000 years ago: Homo sapiens 'out of Africa'
11. 130- 10,000 years ago: Homo Sapiens out of Africa
12. Coda
Answers to end of chapter questions
Glossary
Index
About the author
Dr. Patricia J. Ash, The Open University in the South, UK and
Dr. David J. Robinson<.strong>, Department of Life Sciences, The Open University, UK.
Summary
* Carefully structured around the evolutionary timeline. * Clearly written and presented with numerous full colourillustrations * Includes integrated self-assessment questions and acomprehensive glossary. * Provides objective coverage of contentious issues. .
Report
"But few current volumes offer the flexibility inherent in the sheer comprehensiveness of The Emergence of Humans. In this remarkably compact volume, Ash and Robinson, both of whom teach at the U.K. s Open University, cover (in varying depth) virtually everything that a focused course in this subject might want to address, while avoiding related areas of anthropology." (The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1 March 2011) "The Emergence of Humans is an accessible, informative introduction to the scientific study of human evolution. . . written by two authors with a wealth of teaching experience The Emergence of Humans will prove invaluable to students in the biological and natural sciences needing a clear, balanced introduction to the study of human evolution. Recommendation: would make a good undergraduate level textbook." (The Birdbooker Report, 16 November 2010) "
