Eco Homo: How the Human Being Emerged from the Cataclysmic History of the Earth [Hardcover]

Noel T. Boaz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

This volume argues that the ecological and environmental changes that may have occurred at the same time may have been the vital cause of the evolution from ape to modern human. It offers theories as how the evolution of the gorilla may be tied to a long period of global cooling; how the drying up of the Mediterranean may have decreased the salinity of the northern Atlantic, lowering its freezing point and culminating in the Ice Age; and how waves of climatic aridity led to the formation of the deserts and may have been responsible for pushing hominids out of Africa, not once but several times. The book aims to shed new light on humankind's irrevocable ties to its environment.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Boaz asks the whys of hominid speciation, and for his answers explores geology and paleoclimatology, the broadest ecological influences on evolution. For each of the half dozen currently known major species, from hominid to Homo sapiens, Boaz proposes a hypothesis of the environmental changes that could have favored or hindered its success. Various tests of the hypotheses follow: Could formation of Africa's Great Rift Valley have separated the common ancestor of gorillas from chimps, and chimps from hominids? Could the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea five million years ago and the creation of the Sahara Desert be connected with the oldest-known hominid fossils? Is the formation of the Panama isthmus implicated in the appearance of the Homo genus? Boaz intriguingly explores those possibilities, not claiming orthodoxy for his explanations, which showcases the scientific process in action on the subject of biogeography, human beginnings division. A fluently presented work on the paleo-biogeographic aspects of the field that should find many eager readers. Gilbert Taylor

From Kirkus Reviews

An intensive exploration of our current knowledge of the ecological influences on human evolution. Evolution is the result of interactions between a biological population and its entire environment. The multidisciplinary approach of modern paleoanthropology attempts to assemble a complex picture of those interactions, looking not just at bones but at all the varied evidence a fossil site provides. Boaz (Quarry: Closing in on the Missing Link, 1993) pays particular attention to the indications of environmental change, the engine driving all evolutionary processes. He focuses on eight specific turning points in the evolution of the primates and offers theories as to their causes. Gorillas, the largest of the anthropoid apes, split off from the common line of evolution fairly early, adapting to a highland forest life. Chimpanzee and Australopithecus lineages went their separate ways later, driven by different environments on opposite sides of the African Rift Valley, followed by the growth of the Sahara Desert. The East African savanna, which favored upright walking, was the ecological crucible in which Australopithecus developed into several species, one of which was ancestral to humanity. A shifting pattern of moist and dry eras allowed the genus Homo (originally a tropical animal) to expand out of Africa into Asia, Europe, and America. Boaz examines these events with careful attention not only to extant fossils but to the environmental factors: availability of foodstuffs, competition of other species (rodents outcompeted early primates in America), and, above all, the changes in climate. A final chapter looks into the future, exploring possible effects of environmental degradation brought about by overpopulation. Boaz warns that we and our descendants will be no freer of the effects of our environment than our remote ancestors. Boaz's thought-provoking subject makes up for his sometimes clumsy prose style; worth a look by anyone interested in our origins and probable future. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465018033
• ISBN-13: 978-0465018031
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,841,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights Into Possible Factors In Human Evolution, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Eco Homo: How The Human Being Emerged From The Cataclysmic History Of The Earth (Paperback)

The above editorial reviews of Eco Homo are all more insightful and articulate than any review that I can write so what can I address that the others don't? A reason why you should read this book. "Did you ever wonder why people walk upright? Why some people have dark skin and some have light? Why our early ancestors left Africa and started wandering the globe?..." The author examines the forces that shaped humanity and writes interestingly about his conclusions and methods for reaching them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Guy That Didn't Like This Book Is Retarded, January 11, 2006

By 

Zoep Eberta "Peekster" (The Bay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eco Homo: How the Human Being Emerged from the Cataclysmic History of the Earth (Hardcover)

This book is fantastic, Boaz elequently tells of the history of human beings. Read this book if interested in this sort of stuff.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, July 1, 2009

By 

Andrew Rex (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eco Homo (Paperback)

This book is excellent. I have a decent general-science background, with no prior exposure to anthropology or paleontology, and I found this completely accessible. I'd even go further and say that this book was very well written. Whoever trashed it in his review must be a Creationist trying to spread seeds of doubt. Aside from the quality of the writing, Msr. Creationist lambasts Boaz for a lack of objectivity. I find this absurd, since the goal of the book is to present conflicting theories about human evolution and the arguments for each. His goal, as I took it, appears to be acquainting the reader with the fundamental evolutionary processes and the mechanisms by which climate and ecology would have most likely influenced/driven our emergence from apes. It's a great book - well worth reading.