The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution (Cambridge Reference Book)

by Stephen Jones (Author)

5 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0521467865

ISBN-10: 9780521467865

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This is a new and refreshing introduction to the human species that places modern humans squarely in evolutionary perspective and treats evolution itself as a continuing genetic process in which every one of us is involved. Over seventy scholars worldwide have collaborated on the Encyclopedia, which is divided into ten main sections. Following a keynote introduction asking simply "What makes us human?", the coverage ranges widely: from genetics, primatology and fossil origins to human biology and ecology, brain function and behavior, and demography and disease. Emphasis is placed throughout on the biological diversity of modern people and the increasing convergence of the fossil and genetic evidence for human evolution that has emerged in recent years. Because of the need to look at humankind in the context of our closest relatives, the Encyclopedia also pays particular attention to the evolution and ecology of the living primates--lemurs, lorises, monkeys and apes. It deals with the evolution and ecology of human society, as reconstructed from archaeological remains, and from studies of indigenous peoples and living primates today. It considers the biology of uniquely human abilities such as language and upright walking, and it reviews the biological future of humankind in the face of challenges greater than those ever before experienced. Boxes highlighting key issues and techniques are provided throughout the text, and there are numerous maps, photographs, diagrams, and ready-reference tables--all the reader needs in a single volume to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of how humankind has developed and how scientists set about investigating the origin of our species.

Editorial Reviews

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"This book is unquestionably the best reference work dedicated to human evolution yet published....The stunning computer-generated composite image of human and chimpanzee faces that graces the cover illustrates the unmistakable link between humans and other primates that is emphasized on the pages within....The book resembles and reads like a textbook as much as an encyclopedia....This work is a comprehensive catalog of present knowledge and thus an absolutely essential source for all libraries." Library Journal

"...this Cambridge title offers a wide-ranging introduction to the field...both comprehensive and usable...This work is highly recommended for general and research libraries of all types...The authoritative source material is both readable and accurate within the framework of current data." Laurel Grozinger, American Reference Books Annual

"...succeeds admirably....a fascinating and beautiful introduction to human evolution in its broadest context....a useful reference for anyone interested in the subject." John G. Fleagle, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"In all, this is an essential purchase for any anthropology library." The Times Higher Education Supplement

"If (whether student or professional) you're interested in human evolution, you'll want to have this volume handy." Ian Tattersall, Nature

"...I can think of no more useful guide to the research topics of general human evolution. Individually and collectively the essays are readable and scholarly, and the stylistic presentation is highly professional. At the very least it should be on the required reading list for courses on human evolution, for teachers and students alike." Walter Carl Hartwig, Evolutionary Anthropology

"...a fine book; a worthy addition to the excellent Cambridge Encyclopedia series. Great to have on the shelves." Colin Tudge, New Scientist

"...covers human ecology through broad topical articles. Topically, this new encyclopedia seems stronger on most behavior issues and provides more extensive attention to the evolution and ecology of relevant living primates, such as lemurs and monkeys. In addition, it is more up to date on such controversies as 'Mitochondrial Eve.' The academic approach and article length of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution will appeal most to university and research libraries." Booklist

"...succeeds in providing truly 'encyclopedic' coverage of the whole gamut of human evolutionary studies....The quality of the writing is, for the most part, excellent, and the editors and contributing authors are to be commended for creating a volume that will be truly useful to a wide range of readers within anthropology, including graduate and undergraduate students as well as professors....I heartily recommend this volume to all anthropologists and university librarians. There is no better single source that I am aware of for finding brief, accurate, and current synopses of the issues, problems, and methods of analysis within the domain of human evolutionary studies." Robert L. Anemone, American Journal of Physical Anthropology

"...a valuable reference book for anyone working in the field of human evolution." Keren R. Rosenberg, American Journal of Human Biology

Book Description

Over seventy scholars worldwide have collaborated on this well-documented introduction to the human species. The volume includes all the reader needs to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of how humankind has developed as well as the means by which scientists investigate the origin of our species.

Series: Cambridge Reference Book
Paperback: 524 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 29, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780521467865
ISBN-13: 978-0521467865
ASIN: 0521467861
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 1.2 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,568,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #805 in Physical Anthropology (Books)
- #3010 in Antiques & Collectibles Encyclopedias
- #695 in Encyclopedias (Books)

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WAHJ78

Five Stars

December 7, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Good stuff. Great shape. Thank you.

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Dyan " Cuevas" Barrett

Five Stars

October 9, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

AMAZING

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Roberto Fideli

I strongly counsel Amazon's customers to buy this book, despite its price.

June 13, 2014

Format: Paperback

Science was born in Greece. They called it episteme. They were likely to equate science with mathematics. But some of them were able to distinguish fronesis, wisdom, empirical knowledge, from science. The noun scientia was coined by our ancestors, the Romans, who distinguished it from sapientia, empirical knowledge. Science is empirical knowledge; but there is empirical knowledge also in the humanities (and particularly in art, law and philology). Faith overcame science with the Jewish-Christian power on Europe in the Middle Ages, even if not everything was bad in that age.
I realize that there is a history of science like there is a history of arts, grammar, law and literature. But in order to be a historian of science you must practice science. You must be a physicist, a chemist, a biologist. The same is true for arts, grammar, law and literature. A history in the wider sense as conceived by the classical philologist and excellent writer Toynbee lacks any depth, even if he gave insights, particularly in literature, which is my favourite subject. Philosophia naturalis meant science until Newton's time. After that usually philosophy means falsified science, anti-science or pseudo-science. However, some books of gnosiology or methodology are still interesting.
I found this Encyclopedia of Cambridge university published in 1992 very useful to me. Even if you want to be a humanist, you have to be in touch with science. Particularly I found these insights in this book.
a) The difference between comparative method and statistical method is showed by clear examples (see for example the scattergram relating body weight and brain weight in primates and other mammals at page 111 and the visual homology between the bones of a gorilla and of man at page 465).
b) There is not any scientific evidence of the natural character of homosexuality and transsexual behaviour (p. 94). The gene for homosexuality has never been discovered. Family is a natural group, unlike it is asserts here (p. 4; see Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Human ethology, chapter 4). And, according to statistics, human beings are likely to choose partners not strictly related with them and not too very different from them, of the same people (Italian, etc.) or at least of the same ethnicity (European, etc.). Following the known evidence I am in favour of heterosexual and lay education. Is it right to make homosexual and lesbian persons educate children ? Of course, I am a philologist and writer and I let experts of bio-ethics empirically study this subject considering American and European laws.
c) For a man aggression is a drive naturally inhibited in his relations with children and women, and in many situations also with other men (p. 122).
d) There is a suggestive hypothesis about the development of brain asymmetry, that is the dominion of the left hemisphere. The position of the heart and the fact that in the human being parental care lasts longer than in other primates and involves both mother and father may account for this. Also our ancestors were likely to keep for a long time children on the left side where they relax easily, leaving the right hand free for manipulation and promoting in this way the development of the left hemisphere, which rules the right side of the body (p. 122).
e) The entries consciousness, conscience, empathy, intentionality, will don't appear. Scientific honest investigation about them is possible. But at the moment one finds evidence of their appearance only in the humanities (see my website ).

Roberto Fideli

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A. M. Munford

Some interesting ideas, much padding

May 17, 2004

Format: Paperback

Anyone who is interested in understanding human origins is likely to be attracted to this book. It actually consists of a very comprehensive collection of articles by specialists - specialists on everything from "The structure of DNA" to "Tribal peoples in the modern world." Hidden away among all this specialised knowledge are some interesting conclusions, but they take a lot of searching for. There is one on page 358 - a three-quarter page box headed "Throwing". Barbara Isaac suggests that our ancestors, lacking sharp canine teeth or claws, made up for it, once their hand were freed from walking duties, by becoming good at throwing stones. There is another exciting idea on page 88. In another three-quarter page box, M H Day suggests that bipedalism involved a smaller pelvic girdle, which made it more difficult to give birth to a big-brained baby.

There are some more exciting ideas, but the great bulk of the text, whilst good background material for the specialised anthropologist, doesn't tell us anything very interesting. Some of it is downright irrelevant, merely filling up space. Why did we need an article on the New World Monkeys? They are nothing to do with our ancestry. And why must the book start off by trotting out the old chestnut about life starting off 3000 million years ago as "short stretches of nucleic acid floating in a chemical sea". Those who still believe that, do so on faith alone - it's science fiction. The truth is that no one knows how life began, if indeed it ever did begin.

What the book lacks, above all, is an intelligent overview, someone who can draw the strands together and tell us what it all means - the kind of overview that is attempted on the site evolution-of-man.info. Perhaps we should not expect this kind of overview. Certainly we don't get it.

17 people found this helpful

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Gerardo Arroyo

Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution

February 15, 2000

Format: Paperback

Excellent work. In depth treatment of the subject yet accesible to everyone.It covers every imaginable aspect of human evolution by the men and woman that are at the frontiers of this science.

14 people found this helpful

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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution (Cambridge Reference Book)