This book provides a wealth of information about individual crania, jaws and postcranial remains of Homo erectus and will serve as an important guide to the anatomy. It also documents the history of this extinct human species and suggests a route whereby Homo erectus may have given rise to people more like Homo sapiens.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...calm, assured and competent....a useful volume on a topical debate that professionals will consult frequently." Nature
"...an impressive and important book." Science
"Suffice it so say that all paleoanthropologists will need to have access to this volume and that the numerous tables of data provided are serving already as the basis for renewed attempts to understand the evolutionary and phylogenetic history of the first species of hominid to leave Africa." Geoffrey G. Pope, International Journal of Primatology
"Rightmire has done an excellent job of presenting his perspectives on a number of complex and important issues, relating not just to H. erectus but to paleoanthropology in general. Consequently, this volume will certainly serve as an essential reference for those interested in making further contributions to sorting out the 'muddle in the middle.'" Science
"This book is a provocative and worthwhile contribution to the paleoanthropological literature and proves to be something of a rarity in that it is a singly authored volume wholly devoted to the evolution of only one species of hominid." American Journal of Physical Anthropology
"...an excellent summary of Rightmire's work..." E. Delson, Choice
"The chief accomplishment of Rightmire's book is the compilation of excellent descriptions of many H. erectus fossils and the presentation of numerous perspectives on the definition of this taxon. His attempt to relate this species to others in the hominid lineage is commendable, and he addresses issues important not only to palaeoanthropology, but also to palaeontology as a whole. Rightmire's work will undoubtedly remain an excellent reference text for all those interested in human evolution for many years to come." Tal Simmons, American Scientist
"...an impressive and important book." Science
"Suffice it so say that all paleoanthropologists will need to have access to this volume and that the numerous tables of data provided are serving already as the basis for renewed attempts to understand the evolutionary and phylogenetic history of the first species of hominid to leave Africa." Geoffrey G. Pope, International Journal of Primatology
"Rightmire has done an excellent job of presenting his perspectives on a number of complex and important issues, relating not just to H. erectus but to paleoanthropology in general. Consequently, this volume will certainly serve as an essential reference for those interested in making further contributions to sorting out the 'muddle in the middle.'" Science
"This book is a provocative and worthwhile contribution to the paleoanthropological literature and proves to be something of a rarity in that it is a singly authored volume wholly devoted to the evolution of only one species of hominid." American Journal of Physical Anthropology
"...an excellent summary of Rightmire's work..." E. Delson, Choice
"The chief accomplishment of Rightmire's book is the compilation of excellent descriptions of many H. erectus fossils and the presentation of numerous perspectives on the definition of this taxon. His attempt to relate this species to others in the hominid lineage is commendable, and he addresses issues important not only to palaeoanthropology, but also to palaeontology as a whole. Rightmire's work will undoubtedly remain an excellent reference text for all those interested in human evolution for many years to come." Tal Simmons, American Scientist
Book Description
Homo erectus, an extinct human species, appears to have evolved in Africa before spreading into other regions of the Old World. In addition to serving as an important guide to the species' anatomy, this study documents its history and relationship to Homo sapiens.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic,
By fossils (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Evolution of Homo Erectus: Comparative Anatomical Studies of an Extinct Human Species (Paperback)
This book is already a classic treatment of the taxon. In years where dissent to prevailing cladistic theories was unpopular, Rightmire took a position on systematics that took time and geography into account. This would be supported by numerous fossils found over the 15 years after this volume was published. A must read for grad students interested in the taxon and the general public also.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, but not easy to understand,
By
This review is from: The Evolution of Homo Erectus: Comparative Anatomical Studies of an Extinct Human Species (Paperback)
Evolution of Homo erectus by G. Philip Rightmire is a scholarly discussion of Homo Erectus' evolution through time, across the planet, through his diverse global locations--China, Africa, Indonesia, Spain, Europe, including Trinil, Sangiran, Zhoukoudian, Ternifine, Sale, Turkana, Olduvai Gorge. Rightmire has studied the major artifacts and provides a rigorous overview of each, including sketches, dimensions, various views, discussion and analysis. Dimensions include not only the major measurements, but breadth, height, diameter, of the parts of each artifact. On Page 6, he includes two tables that inventory the body parts of samples found in the principal Indonesian and Chinese localities, as well as Africa (northwest, east and south). I found those tables fascinating.
Most of the book is this type of quantitative objective analysis. Toward the back, in the few remaining pages, Rightmire shares trends in brain size for the species and summarizes his analyses in two pages. He is careful not to share anything that could be construed as an opinion, which disappointed me. I am an armchair paleoanthropologist. I'll never have access to the studies and people that a figure such as Rightmire has in the subject, so I depend upon those smarter and better trained than I to help shape my thoughts on the subject. Rightmire is an internationally recognized expert on Homo erectus and the Middle Pleistocene era and the current Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at SUNY-Binghamton. I wanted his educated thoughts on the subject of Homo erectus' migration across the globe. I didn't get that here. I think someone who wants a highly objective discussion of Homo erectus' artifacts will get much more from this book than I did. This is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 starts. It takes a lot of concentration to come up with my own amateur conclusions from his data. Still, here are some of my favorite parts: * the book tracks the transition from Homo erectus to a more advanced form of human. How this change occurred is certainly one of the more challenging questions facing paleoanthropologists * On the strength of a few isolated teeth, this new hominid was named Sinanthropus pekinensis * Studies of the cave sediments suggest that most of the deposits were accumulated during the Middle Pleistocene (near Beijing in China) * This famous specimen (from Trinil by Dubois) exhibits a large pathological excrescence toward its proximal end * Its superior aspect is shelf-like as in several of the Ngandong crania rather than rounded or simply roughened as in other Sangiran individuals (Sangiran 4) * OH9 is one of the larger Homo erectus skulls on record
0 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Women Warrior,
By Sousan Kakayi (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Evolution of Homo Erectus: Comparative Anatomical Studies of an Extinct Human Species (Paperback)
This is a good book that i really enjoyed and i think its hard to understand but after a while you will be able to understand it.This book is representing all the women that are hard-working!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Following the discoveries of several Neanderthals in Europe, traces of a more archaic kind of human were uncovered in Asia, toward the close of the last century. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
supramastoid sulcus, digastric incisure, marginal torus, parasagittal flattening, alveolar prominence, alveolar planum, auditory porus, retromastoid process, true external occipital protuberance, least frontal breadth, digastric impressions, parietal vault, rectus capitis posticus, angular torus, anterior marginal tubercle, biorbital chord, crista petrosa, postorbital constriction index, superior oblique line, minimum frontal width, mastoid crest, nuchal surface, transverse torus, mentum osseum, parietal mastoid angle Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Pleistocene, Broken Hill, Koobi Fora, East African, Olduvai Gorge, East Turkana, Far East, Asian Homo, African Homo, Lake Ndutu, Sidi Abderrahman, Santa Luca, Thomas Quarry, Kedung Brubus, Masek Beds, Chinese Homo, Old World, Olduvai Bed, Early Pleistocene, Lake Baringo, Pucangan Formation, South Africa, Kabuh Formation, European Neanderthal, Olduvai Homo New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Following the discoveries of several Neanderthals in Europe, traces of a more archaic kind of human were uncovered in Asia, toward the close of the last century. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
supramastoid sulcus, digastric incisure, marginal torus, parasagittal flattening, alveolar prominence, alveolar planum, auditory porus, retromastoid process, true external occipital protuberance, least frontal breadth, digastric impressions, parietal vault, rectus capitis posticus, angular torus, anterior marginal tubercle, biorbital chord, crista petrosa, postorbital constriction index, superior oblique line, minimum frontal width, mastoid crest, nuchal surface, transverse torus, mentum osseum, parietal mastoid angle Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Pleistocene, Broken Hill, Koobi Fora, East African, Olduvai Gorge, East Turkana, Far East, Asian Homo, African Homo, Lake Ndutu, Sidi Abderrahman, Santa Luca, Thomas Quarry, Kedung Brubus, Masek Beds, Chinese Homo, Old World, Olduvai Bed, Early Pleistocene, Lake Baringo, Pucangan Formation, South Africa, Kabuh Formation, European Neanderthal, Olduvai Homo New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 20
books:
See all 20 books this book cites
- Ancestors: The Hard Evidence by Eric Delson on 7 pages
- Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Bernard Wood on 4 pages
- Human Evolution by WOLPOFF in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hominid Evolution: Past, Present and Future by Phillip V. Tobias in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Human Evolution by George D., Jr. Brown in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 20 books this book cites
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