This pioneering volume summarizes the results of diverse research on Pleistocene environments and the cultural and biological evolution of man in Africa. The book includes chapters on Pleistocene stratigraphy and climatic changes throughout the African continent; on the ecology, biology and sociology of African primate and human populations. Contributors include: C. Arambourg, P. Biberson, W. W. Bishop, Geoffrey Bond, F. Bourlière, Karl W. Butzer, Desmond Clark, H. B. S. Cooke, Irven DeVore, John T. Emlen, A. T. Grove, J. de Heinzelin, J. Hiernaux, Clark Howell, L. S. B. Leakey, I. Liben, T. Monod, R. F. Moreau, R. A. pullan, J. T. Robinson, George B. Schaller, S. L. Washburn. Originally published in 1964.
A comprehensive account of hominin fossil sites across Africa, including the environmental and ecological evidence central to our understanding of human evolution.
Bringing an ecological and biogeographic perspective to recent fossil finds, this book provides a new synthesis of ideas on hominid evolution and will be a valuable resource for a variety of researchers.
The record of man's early evolution, though still fragmentary, is more complete on the African continent than anywhere else in the world. The ecological context of this evolution, however, has been studied intensively only in recent years. This pioneering volume draws together eminent specialists from many fields--physical anthropologists, zoologists, geologists, paleontologists, and prehistorians--who summarize here the results of their diverse research on Pleistocene environments and the cultural and biological evolution of man in Africa. This volume was sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Inc., which met at Burg Wartenstein, Austria. The editors have field experience in Africa, especially eastern and equatorial Africa. This experience is coupled with their awareness of the need to integrate results of numerous field studies bearing on the biological-behavioral evolution of higher primates with other field studies on the paleoecology and the mammalian ecology of sub-Saharan Africa. The book includes contributions on Pleistocene stratigraphy and climatic changes throughout the African continent; on the origin and evolution of the earliest man-like creatures in Africa; on the dating, distribution, and adaptation of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer peoples; and on the ecology, biology, and social behavior of African primate and human populations. The chapters reflect vividly the state of current knowledge at the time and indicate paths for future research. Over 100 maps and figures, detailed bibliographies, and a comprehensive index contribute to the importance of the volume for basic reference use. F. Clark Howell is professor emeritus of paleoanthropology at the University of California, Berkeley where he is co-director of the Laboratory of Human Studies. He is also curator at The University of California Museum of Paleontology. Franois Bourlire (1913-1993) was professor of physiology at the University of Paris. He is also credited with founding the Gerontology Research Unit of Institute of Health and Medical Research and was a member of Paris hospitals.
The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.
The record of man's early evolution, though still fragmentary, is more complete on the African continent than anywhere else in the world. The ecological context of this evolution, however, has been studied intensively only in recent years. This pioneering volume draws together eminent specialists from many fields--physical anthropologists, zoologists, geologists, paleontologists, and prehistorians--who summarize here the results of their diverse research on Pleistocene environments and the cultural and biological evolution of man in Africa. This volume was sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Inc., which met at Burg Wartenstein, Austria. The editors have field experience in Africa, especially eastern and equatorial Africa. This experience is coupled with their awareness of the need to integrate results of numerous field studies bearing on the biological-behavioral evolution of higher primates with other field studies on the paleoecology and the mammalian ecology of sub-Saharan Africa. The book includes contributions on Pleistocene stratigraphy and climatic changes throughout the African continent; on the origin and evolution of the earliest man-like creatures in Africa; on the dating, distribution, and adaptation of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer peoples; and on the ecology, biology, and social behavior of African primate and human populations. The chapters reflect vividly the state of current knowledge at the time and indicate paths for future research. Over 100 maps and figures, detailed bibliographies, and a comprehensive index contribute to the importance of the volume for basic reference use.
Modern Humans is a vivid account of the most recent—and perhaps the most important—phase of human evolution: the appearance of anatomically modern people (Homo sapiens) in Africa less than half a million years ago and their later spread throughout the world. Leaving no stone unturned, John F. Hoffecker demonstrates that Homo sapiens represents a “major transition” in the evolution of living systems in terms of fundamental changes in the role of non-genetic information. Modern Humans synthesizes recent findings from genetics (including the rapidly growing body of ancient DNA), the human fossil record, and archaeology relating to the African origin and global dispersal of anatomically modern people. Hoffecker places humans in the broad context of the evolution of life, emphasizing the critical role of genetic and non-genetic forms of information in living systems as well as how changes in the storage, transmission, and translation of information underlie major transitions in evolution. He also draws on information and complexity theory to explain the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa several hundred thousand years ago and the rapid and unprecedented spread of our species into a variety of environments in Australia and Eurasia, including the Arctic and Beringia, beginning between 75,000 and 60,000 years ago. This magisterial work will appeal to all with an interest in the ever-fascinating field of human evolution.
