The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCETo be human is to be curious. And one of the things we are most curious about is how we came to be who we are--how we evolved over millions of years to become creatures capable of inquiring into our own evolution. In this lively and readable introduction, renowned anthropologist Ian Tattersall thoroughly examines both fossil and archaeological records to trace human evolution from the earliest beginnings of our zoological family, Hominidae, through the appearance of Homo sapiens to the Agricultural Revolution. He begins with an accessible overview of evolutionary theory and then explores the major turning points in human evolution: the emergence of the genus Homo, the advantages of bipedalism, the birth of the big brain and symbolic thinking, Paleolithic and Neolithic tool making, and finally the enormously consequential shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies 10,000 years ago. Focusing particularly on the pattern of events and innovations in human biological and cultural evolution, Tattersall offers illuminating commentary on a wide range of topics, including the earliest known artistic expressions, ancient burial rites, the beginnings of language, the likely causes of Neanderthal extinction, the relationship between agriculture and Christianity, and the still unsolved mysteries of human consciousness. Complemented by a wealth of illustrations and written with the grace and accessibility for which Tattersall is widely admire, The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE invites us to take a closer look at the strange and distant beings who, over the course of millions of years, would become us. |
Contents
CHAPTER 1 Evolutionary Processes | 1 |
CHAPTER 2 Fossils and Ancient Artifacts | 19 |
CHAPTER 3 On Their Own Two Feet | 37 |
CHAPTER 4 Emergence of the Genus Homo | 55 |
CHAPTER 5 Getting Brainier | 71 |
CHAPTER 6 Modern Human Origins | 89 |
CHAPTER 7 Settled Life | 109 |
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afarensis Africa ancestor ancient animals apes archaeological record archaeologists archaic Atapuerca Aurignacian Australopithecus australopiths behaviors bipedal bipeds Bodo body bones brain braincase cave Chaˆtelperronian characteristics chimpanzees clearly climatic complex contain Cro-Magnons cultural Darwin dating descended distinctive Dmanisi earliest early hominids environment Ethiopia Europe evidence example extinct Fertile Crescent flakes fossil record genes genetic genus handaxes hominid hominid fossils hominid species Homo erectus Homo ergaster Homo heidelbergensis Homo neanderthalensis human evolution Human Origins hunting Ian Tattersall Ice Age individual innovation Kenya kind known lifestyle lineages living million years ago modern human mtDNA natural selection Neanderthals Neolithic notion organisms paleoanthropologists Paleolithic pelvis period plant populations possible primates relatively rocks sediment simply skeleton skull societies specimen Stone Age stone tools structure teeth tion toolmaking Turkana Boy University Press Upper Paleolithic upright What’s world history York