Biological Anthropology and Prehistory: Exploring Our Human Ancestry [Paperback]

Patricia C. Rice (Author), Norah Moloney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0205381960 | ISBN-13: 978-0205381968

Written specifically for courses that cover biological anthropology and archaeology, this superbly illustrated new text offers the most balanced and up-to-date introduction to our human past. Devoting equal time to biological anthropology and prehistory , this text exposes students to the many sides of major controversial issues, involving students in the scientific thought process by allowing them to draw their own conclusions. Pat Rice, a recipient of AAA's Outstanding Teacher Award and past-president of the General Anthropology Division of AAA, and Norah Moloney, an experienced professor and active archaeologist, present the material in a clear, refreshing, and straightforward writing style. Amidst discussions of bones and artifacts, the text maintains a focus on people, demonstrating to students how biological anthropology and archaeology apply to their lives today. Featuring the latest research and findings pulled from the original sources, this new text is far and away the most up-to-date text available. In addition, the superior art program features hundreds of photographs and figures, and the multimedia presentation options include documentary film clips and lecture launcher videos.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Written specifically for courses that cover biological anthropology and archaeology, this superbly illustrated new text offers the most balanced and up-to-date introduction to our human past.

Devoting equal time to biological anthropology and prehistory, the text exposes students to the many sides of major controversial issues, involving students in the scientific thought process by allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

The authors, Pat Rice and Norah Moloney, are accomplished instructors in the fields of biological anthropology and archaeology, and bring extensive expertise and knowledge into the writing of this text. Recipient of AAA's Outstanding Teaching Award in 1999, Pat Rice is the immediate past president of the General Anthropology Division of AAA and co-director of the Institute for Teaching Anthropology.

Special Features

• Complete and up-to-date coverage includes the latest finds and relies upon highly current sources throughout.
• Presentation of biological anthropology and archaeology/prehistory as distinct areas, respecting the different methods and content of both fields while relating the biology and culture to each chapter's time period.
• Insightful analysis of the key questions in both these fields help students grasp their implications, consider the evidence, and arrive at their own conclusions.
• “Highlight” boxes in each chapter show the relevance of current issues in bioanthropology and archaeology to today's world and provide applications of the key principles in each chapter.
• A “lumper” approach to presenting only essential species and names allows students to focus on the key information and avoid being overwhelmed by the technical nature of the subject matter.
• A concluding chapter summarizes the stages of human evolution and discusses the nature of cultural evolution versus biological evolution, giving pros and cons for equating the terms.
• TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGE: A media-rich, visually stimulating website for students and instructors, The Anthropology Experience, reinforces core anthropology content through additional textual material, images, PowerPoint lectures, National Geographic videos, and more. FREE ACCESS is available with the purchase of a new Rice/Moloney, Biological Anthropology and Prehistory: Exploring Our Human Ancestry, text. Visit www.ablongman.com/riceinfo for more information.

About the Author

PAT RICE grew up in Rochester, New York. Her broad education began with a degree in international studies at Ohio State University. Her interests later turned to anthropology. In graduate school at OSU, she continued her generalist focus by training in cultural and biological anthropology. She later studied archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, now part of University College London. Her primary research area is in European prehistoric art: Venus statuettes, bone art, and cave art. She has led a number of Smithsonian trips to Spain and France with a focus on cave art. More recently, she has turned to writing and editing about teaching anthropology. She co-edited The Teaching of Anthropology: Problems, Issues, and Decisions (1997: Mayfield) with Conrad Kottak, Richard Furlow, and Jane White, co-edits with David McCurdy the biannual Strategies in Teaching Anthropology (Prentice-Hall: 2000, 2002, 2004), and recently co-edited with Philip Salzman and co-authored four articles in Thinking Anthropologically: A Practical Guide for Students (Prentice-Hall 2004). In 1991, she and David McCurdy inaugurated the journal General Anthropology, sponsored by the General Anthropology Division (GAD) of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). She writes a semi-annual column titled “Paleoanthropology” that provides synopses of the major fossil and artifact finds during the previous six months. Pat is the immediate past president of the General Anthropology Division of AAA. In 1999, she won the American Anthropological Association’s Outstanding Teacher Award. She has taught at Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, and West Virginia University, where she currently is an Eberly teaching professor.

 

NORAH MOLONEY originally trained in England as a school teacher but developed an interest in archaeology during extended trips throughout the world. She undertook undergraduate work at Harvard University, Boston, and continued her graduate studies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where she has taught since 1994. She also currently lectures in archaeology at Birkbeck College, University of London, and has taught other archaeology courses at London Metropolitan University, Oxford Brookes University, and at school venues for the nonspecialist public. Norah greatly enjoys working with students and the general public, whose participation and enthusiasm, she firmly believes, reinforce and stimulate her own understanding and knowledge of archaeology. Norah’s research interests are directed primarily toward stone tool analysis, with a particular–although not exclusive–emphasis on the Paleolithic. She has participated in archaeological fieldwork projects in France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Jordan, Kazakstan, and Armenia. Her publications include papers and edited books. The most recent, with co-editor Michael J. Shott, is Lithics at the Millennium (Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon (September 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205381960
• ISBN-13: 978-0205381968
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,369,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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