The human career : human biological and cultural origins

Described as "by far the best book of its kind" (Henry McHenry, Evolution ) and "the best introduction to the problems and data of modern palaeoanthropology yet published" (R. A. Foley, Antiquity ), The Human Career has proved to be an indispensable tool in teaching human origins since its publication in 1989. This substantially revised edition retains Richard Klein's innovative approach and incorporates new findings from the past decade. The Human Career chronicles the evolution of people from the earliest primates through the emergence of fully modern humans within the past 200,000 years. Its comprehensive treatment stresses recent advances in knowledge, including, for example, ever more abundant evidence that fully modern humans originated in Africa and spread from there, replacing the Neanderthals in Europe and equally archaic people in Asia. With its coverage of both the fossil record and the archeological record over the 2.5 million years for which both are available, Klein emphasizes that human morphology and behavior evolved together. Throughout the text, Klein presents evidence for alternative points of view, but also does not hesitate to take a position. In addition to outlining the broad pattern of human evolution, The Human Career details the kinds of data that support this pattern, including information on archeological sites, artifacts, fossils, and methods for establishing dates in geological time. With abundant references and hundreds of illustrations, charts, and diagrams, this new edition is unparalleled in its usefulness for teaching human evolution. The Human Carrer chronicles the evolution of people from the earliest primates, who lived perhaps 80 million years ago, through the emergence of fully modern humans within the past 200,000 years. It is intended for students and for anyone else seeking a comprehensive, up-to-date summary of human biological and behavioral evolution. It emphasizes recent advances in knowledge, including burgeoning evidence that fully modern humans originated in Africa and spread from there, replacing the Neanderthals in Europe and equally archaic people in Asia. The author, Richard Klein, outlines alternative opinions on this and other key issues but does not hesitate to take positions.The Human Career stresses the broad pattern of human evolution, but it also introduces the fossils, artifacts, geologic dates, and other data from which the pattern must be inferred. It is unique for its integration of the fossil and archeological records, and it shows that neglecting archeology in favor of the fossil record (or vice versa) inevitably limits our understanding of key events, such as the emergence of the genus Homo 2.5 million years ago, the appearance of Homo ergaster 1.7 million years ago, and the spread of fully modern Homo sapiens from Africa beginning roughly 50,000 years ago. List of Illustrations ix List of Tables xiii Preface to the Second Edition xv Preface to the First Edition xvii 1 Evolution, Classification, and Nomenclature 1 2 The Geologic Time Frame 19 3 Primate Evolution: Late Cretaceous to Late Miocene 62 4 The Australopithecines and Homo habilis 144 5 Evolution of the Genus Homo 255 6 The Neanderthals and Their Contemporaries 367 7 Anatomically Modern Humans 494 8 Conclusion: Anatomy, Behavior, and Modern Human Origins 580 References 597 Reference Index 745 Site Index 767 Subject Index 779 1. Evolution, Classification, And Nomenclature -- 2. The Geologic Time Frame -- 3. Primate Evolution: Late Cretaceous To Late Miocene -- 4. The Australopithecines And Homo Habilis -- 5. Evolution Of The Genus Homo -- 6. The Neanderthals And Their Contemporaries -- 7. Anatomically Modern Humans -- 8. Conclusion: Anatomy, Behavior, And Modern Human Origins. Richard G. Klein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 597-744) And Indexes.