The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009 Edition

The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009 Edition book cover

The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009 Edition

Author(s): Frederick E. Grine (Editor), John G Fleagle (Editor), Richard E. Leakey (Editor)

  • Publisher: Springer
  • Publication Date: 28 Oct. 2010
  • Edition: Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 232 pages
  • ISBN-10: 9048182336
  • ISBN-13: 9789048182336

Book Description

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. When did the human postcranial “Bauplan” evolve, and for what reasons? What behaviors (and what behavioral limitations) can be inferred from the postcranial bones that have been attributed to Homo habilis and Homo erectus? Still other issues relate to growth, development and life history strategies, and the biological and archeological evidence for diet and behavior in early Homo. It is often argued that dietary change played an important role in the origin and early evolution of our genus, with stone tools opening up scavenging and hunting opportunities that would have added meat protein to the diet of Homo. Still other issues relate to the environmental and climatic context in which this genus evolved.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

“This volume provides an up-to-date, concise synthesis of what is known about early Homo and highlights what still remains to be done.” Journal of Human Evolution, 2009

From the Back Cover

This volume addresses the origin of the human genus Homo, a major transition in human evolution and associated with major changes in brain size, locomotion, and culture, but one with many unanswered questions. How many different species of Homo were there, and how were they interrelated? Are stone tools a characteristic of early Homo? What was their function? How does the use of stone tools relate to changes in the dentition and brain size? Did adaptations for long distance running first appear with the origin of this genus? How does this relate to its diet and cultural abilities.

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