Joan
Silk and I have coauthored a textbook entitled How Humans Evolved which
is designed for use in introductory classes in human evolution and biological
anthropology. This text differs from others in several ways:
- A more thorough treatment
of evolutionary theory, including discussions of the evolution of quantitative
characters, kin selection, sexual selection, life history evolution, and
parent offspring conflict.
- A modern behavioral-ecological
discussion of primate behavior.
- An extensive treatment
of evolutionary psychology and human behavioral ecology.
The 4th edition is now
available. It has been shortened, updated, and improved. The new material
includes:
- Updating of the fossil
record to reflect the most current scholarship
- Expanded coverage
of gene regulation and its role in cell differentiation
- Discussion of life
history theory linked with the evolution of primates’ cognitive abilities
- New data on the origin
of primates, the New World primate radiation, and Miocene apes
- New data on global
paleoclimates
- New discussion of
recent work on rates of development in extinct hominins
- New sections on the
Herto fossils and what genetic sequence data tells us about human evolution
- Revised selections
that provide a more integrated view of human diversity and contemporary
human behavior
- New examination of
how evolution has shaped the psychology underlying decisions about mating
and parenting
.
