Introduction to Physical Anthropology offers a fresh take on the fundamentalsof the discipline. Author John Steckley guides students through the field step by step, covering foundational aspects such as archaeological tools and dating methods, evolution and genetics, and taxonomy in the early chapters before moving on to more complex topics. After tracing the transition from hominids to modern Homo sapiens, students are introduced to Neandertals, human variation, ethics and migration, and forensic anthropology. INDICE: Preface; From the Publisher; Tables, figures, and Maps; Boxed Features; Chapter 1:; Introduction: Physical Anthropology Faces Bigfoot; The Four Branches of Anthropology; A Case Study: Using the Four Branches to Solve a Historical Mystery; Branches of Physical Anthropology; Human Evolution; Genetics;Paleoanthropology; Anthropometry; Medical Anthropology; Forensic Anthropology; Primatology; Science; The Scientific Method; Fact, Theory, and Hypothesis; Objectivity and Subjectivity: Lumpers and Splitters; Lumpers and Splitters: Declaring Which Side You Are On; How do you feel about Apes?; Author's Message; Summary; Typical Student Questions; Review Questions; Discussion Questions; KeySpecies and Specimens; Key Terms; Key Individuals; Recommended Print and Online Resources; Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade: How Old Is That?; Introduction; Relative Dating; Stratigraphy; Seriation; Absolute Dating; A Warning about Websites and Absolute Dating; Writing; Dendrochronology; Varves; Radiocarbon Dating: Carbon 14; The Dead Sea Scrolls: An Exercise in Radiocarbon Dating; Stonehenge: Radiocarbon Dating Rewriting History; How to Test a New Form of Dating: Consilience; Poptassiul-Argon Dating; Electron Spin Resonance; Summary; TypicalStudent Questions; Review Questions; Answers to Table 2.1; Key Terms; Key Individuals; Recommended Print and Online Resources; Chapter 3: Evolution; What Is Evolution?; What Evolution Is Not; Philosophical Stances and Evolution; Natural Selection; Gregor Mendel and Evolution; Genetics: The Players; Mutation: We Are All X-Men; It's not How Many Genes You've Got that Counts; Selective Pressure; Debates within Evolutionary Theory; Proofs for Evolution; Direct Observation of Evolution; Transitions and Consistency in the Fossil Record; Biogeography; Comparative Anatomy; Unintelligent Design: Vestigial Structures and Imperfections, and Atavisms; Molecular Biology; The Embryo: 'Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny' (in part anyway); Summary; Typical Student Questions; Review Questions; Discussion Questions; Key Terms; Key Individuals; Recommended Print andOnline Resources; Chapter 4: Evolutionary Pathways; Introduction; Family Trees and Bushes; Two Concepts that are Hard to Grasp; Deep Time; Continental Drift; Taxonomy; Traits; Genus and Beyond; Species; So Is a Bird a Reptile, or What?; So What is Louie?; Concesters: They've Come a Long Way Since Then; Long Live the Kingdoms (or Maybe Not); Changing Kingdoms; Animalia; Running through the family: From Farthest to our Closest Relations Mammals; Primates and Their Evolution; Fossil Primates; Proconsul: The Speciating Genus; Gigantopithecus:King Kong Lives; Summary; Typical Student Questions; Review Questions; Discussion Questions; Key Terms; Recommended Print and Online Resources; Chapter 5: Primates: Taxonomy and Behaviour; Preface: The Dread of Apes; Introduction; Primatology; An Ape Is NOT a Monkey; Dental Patterns; Taxonomy; Suborders; Strepsiirhini; What I Used to Teach; Haplorr
- ISBN: 978-0-19-543215-2
- Editorial: Oxford University
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Fecha Publicación: 01/05/2011
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés