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Read more about Explorations: An Open Invitation To Biological Anthropology

Explorations: An Open Invitation To Biological Anthropology

(1 review)

Beth Shook

Katie Nelson

Kelsie Aguilera

Copyright Year: 2019

ISBN 13: 9781931303637

Publisher: American Anthropological Association

Language: English

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CC BY-NC

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Reviewed by Sharon Methvin, Instructor, Mt. Hood Community College on 7/28/22

The authors created a few Appendices in order to include more complete coverage of key areas. This will also be a great way to add updates to this rapidly changing field in our discipline. read more

Table of Contents

Part I. Main Body

  • 1. Introduction to Biological Anthropology
  • 2. Evolution
  • 3. Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • 4. Forces of Evolution
  • 5. Meet the Living Primates
  • 6. Primate Ecology and Behavior
  • 7. Understanding the Fossil Context
  • 8. Primate Evolution
  • 9. Early Hominins
  • 10. Early Members of the Genus Homo
  • 11. Archaic Homo
  • 12. Modern Homo sapiens
  • 13. Race and Human Variation
  • 14. Human Variation: An Adaptive Significance Approach
  • 15. Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
  • 16. Contemporary Topics: Human Biology and Health

Part II. Appendices

  • 17. Osteology
  • 18. Primate Conservation
  • 19. Human Behavioral Ecology

Ancillary Material

  • American Anthropological Association
  • About the Book

    Anthropology is the study of humanity, in all its biological and cultural aspects, past and present. It is a four-field discipline comprised of biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. The focus of this book is biological anthropology, which explores who we are from biological, evolutionary, and adaptive perspectives.

    We lay the foundation for this inquiry in the first four chapters by introducing the discipline of anthropology, evolutionary theory, molecular biology and genetics, and the forces of evolution. Chapters 5–8 consider evolutionary, biological, and social aspects of our closest living relatives, nonhuman primates, with whom we share millions of years of evolution. We also learn about how fossils provide material insight into our past. Chapters 9–12 describe prior hominin species and the emergence of Homo sapiens, us! Finally, the last four chapters (Chapters 13–16) explore human biological variation and the concept of race, bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, and human biology and health in the past and present. We include further readings on osteology (Appendix A), primate conservation (Appendix B), and human behavioral ecology (Appendix C). To guide your reading, each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with review questions and a list of key terms.

    Ancillary materials are available for this textbook.

    About the Contributors

    Editors

    Beth Shook

    Katie Nelson

    Kelsie Aguilera

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