Was Man More Aquatic in the Past? Fifty Years After Alister Hardy - Waterside Hypotheses of Human Evolution PDF Download

Author: Mario Vaneechoutte
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1608052443
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
The book starts from the observation that humans are very different from the other primates. Why are we naked? Why do we speak? Why do we walk upright? Fifty years ago, in 1960, marine biologist Sir Alister Hardy tried to answer this when he announced his so-called aquatic hypothesis: human ancestors did not live in dry savannahs as traditional anthropology assumes, but have adapted to live at the edge between land and water, gathering both terrestrial and aquatic foods. This eBook is an up-to-date collection of the views of the most important protagonists of this long-neglected theory of huma.

Author: M. Kay Martin
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666923885
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins highlights the pervasive impact of the chimpanzee referential model on paleoanthropological theory. This work suggests the need to re-imagine the last common ancestor of chimps and humans based on a more generalized Miocene ape platform and the reliance of early hominins on epigenesis and creative niche construction.

Author: John H. Langdon
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319415859
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
This textbook provides a collection of case studies in paleoanthropology demonstrating the method and limitations of science. These cases introduce the reader to various problems and illustrate how they have been addressed historically. The various topics selected represent important corrections in the field, some critical breakthroughs, models of good reasoning and experimental design, and important ideas emerging from normal science.

Author: Nathalie Gontier
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192543512
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 1185

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Book Description
The biological and neurological capacity to symbolize, and the products of behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, linguistic, and technological uses of symbols (symbolism), are fundamental to every aspect of human life. The Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution explores the origins of our characteristically human abilities - our ability to speak, create images, play music, and read and write. The book investigates how symbolization evolved in human evolution and how symbolism is expressed across the various areas of human life. The field is intrinsically interdisciplinary - considering findings from fossil studies, scientific research from primatology, developmental psychology, and of course linguistics. Written by world leading experts, thirty-eight topical chapters are grouped into six thematic parts that respectively focus on epistemological, psychological, anthropological, ethological, linguistic, and social-technological aspects of human symbolic evolution. The handbook presents an in-depth but comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the of the state of the art in the science of human symbolic evolution. This work will be of interest to academics and students active in all fields contributing to the study of human evolution.

Author: Peter H. Rhys Evans
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429629419
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Why are humans so fond of water? Why is our skin colour so variable? Why aren’t we hairy like our close ape relatives? A savannah scenario of human evolution has been widely accepted primarily due to fossil evidence; and fossils do not offer insight into these questions. Other alternative evolutionary scenarios might, but these models have been rejected. This book explores a controversial idea – that human evolution was intimately associated with watery habitats as much or more than typical savannahs. Written from a medical point of view, the author presents evidence supporting a credible alternative explanation for how humans diverged from our primate ancestors. Anatomical and physiological evidence offer insight into hairlessness, different coloured skin, subcutaneous fat, large brains, a marine-type kidney, a unique heat regulation system and speech. This evidence suggests that humans may well have evolved, not just as savannah mammals, as is generally believed, but with more affinity for aquatic habitats – rivers, streams, lakes and coasts. Key Features: Presents the evidence for a close association between riparian habitats and the origin of humans Reviews the "savannah ape" hypothesis for human origins Describes various anatomical adaptations that are associated with hypotheses of human evolution Explores characteristics from the head and neck such as skull and sinus structures, the larynx and ear structures and functions Corroborates a novel scenario for the origin of human kind ‘... a counterpoint to the textbooks or other books which deal with human evolution. I think readers will see it as a clearly written, well-supported discussion of an alternativeperspective on human origins’. —Kathlyn Stewart, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa ‘There is a pressing need to expand discussions of human evolution to includenon-anthropocentric narratives that use comparative data. Dr Rhys-Evans’ specific expertise and experience with the human head, neck, ears, throat, mouth and sinuses, provides him with a distinct perspective from which to approach the subject of human evolution. Moreover, his understanding of non-anthropocentric views of human evolution (water-based models), allow him to apply a biological approach to the subject, missing in more traditional (savannah-based) models’. —Stephen Munro, National Museum of Australia

Author: Oded Degany
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784274143
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
Why are we as humans so attracted to water and to colorful reefs? Indeed, why are reefs so dazzling? How did cleaning station symbiosis evolve? How come there are so many extraordinary defense mechanisms among reef animals? Do the denizens of reefs have consciousness? How did warning coloration evolve? In what ways do fundamental mathematical rules manifest in coral reefs? For answers to these questions and many more, take a dive into Reflections Underwater. Coral reefs are one of the world's great natural wonders: endlessly surprising and mesmerizing kaleidoscopic fractals of color and life. But they are also under serious threat from the effects of climate change and development. Reflections Underwater is a unique, illuminating book that explores a stunning variety of topics and concepts relating to coral reefs. Adopting a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective that weaves together scientific and humanistic ideas, including psychology, evolution, zoology, philosophy, mathematics, art, physics, and more, this book offers a compelling angle on these remarkable and fragile habitats. Meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it is illustrated throughout with exquisite photographs gleaned from the author's many marine adventures.

Author: Maciej Henneberg
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1681082357
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
The natural world can be viewed as a continuously changing complex system comprising variable units that do not conform to any stable plan. Within this framework, human evolution is not the story of the past that created Homo sapiens and then handed this account over to written history. It is the ongoing process that shapes us now and will shape us in the future, body and mind. We must understand it in order to survive and be able to direct it to our advantage. The Dynamic Human presents a general theory of how humans function as a multi-individual system embedded in the natural world. The authors employ a unified approach of systems theory to outline forces that direct ongoing human evolution and produce its outcomes in terms of the past, present and future. Readers will find a perspective on the human place in nature, through a brief account of the past human evolution over 10 million years ago, a discussion of the earliest appearance of humans some 2 million years ago, and a description of the mechanisms of the changes in the gene pool of humans from generation-to-generation. Understanding the forces involved in these mechanisms (physical and mental growth and development) may allow us to understand world better. The Dynamic Human presents a simplified perspective on human evolution for all readers interested in a discourse on the origins, nature and future of human beings.

Author: Donald M. Morrison
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030485439
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
This book traces the evolutionary trajectory of language and teaching from the earliest periods of human evolution to the present day. The author argues that teaching is unique to humans and our ancestors, and that the evolution of teaching, language, and culture are the inextricably linked results of gene-culture coevolutionary processes. Drawing on related fields including archaeology, palaeontology, cultural anthropology, evolutionary psychology and linguistics, he makes the case that the need for joint attention and shared goals in complex adaptive strategies is the underlying driver for the evolution of language-like communication. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of these disciplines, as well as lay readers with an interest in human origins.

Author: Mark Everard
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000284484
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Nature is all around us, in the beautiful but also in the unappealing and functional, and from the awe-inspiring to the mundane. It is vital that we learn to see the agency of the natural world in all things that make our lives possible, comfortable and profitable. The Ecology of Everyday Things pulls back the veil of our familiarity on a range of ‘everyday things’ that surround us, and which we perhaps take too much for granted. This key into the magic world of the everyday can enable us to take better account of our common natural inheritance. Professor James Longhurst, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) For many people, ecosystems may be a remote concept, yet we eat, drink, breathe and interface with them in every moment of our lives. In this engaging textbook, ecosystems scientist Dr. Mark Everard considers a diversity of ‘everyday things’, including fascinating facts about their ecological origins: from the tea we drink, to the things we wear, read and enjoy, to the ecology of communities and space flight, and the important roles played by germs and ‘unappealing creatures’ such as slugs and wasps. In today’s society, we are so umbilically connected to ecosystems that we fail to notice them, and this oversight blinds us to the unsustainability of everyday life and the industries and policy environment that supports it. The Ecology of Everyday Things takes the reader on an enlightening, fascinating voyage of discovery, all the while soundly rooted in robust science. It will stimulate awareness about how connected we all are to the natural world and its processes, and how important it is to learn to better treat our environment. Ideal for use in undergraduate- and school-level teaching, it will also interest, educate, engage and enthuse a wide range of less technical audiences.

Author: Karin Andersson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662490455
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
This book focuses on the interaction between shipping and the natural environment and how shipping can strive to become more sustainable. Readers are guided in marine environmental awareness, environmental regulations and abatement technologies to assist in decisions on strategy, policy and investments. You will get familiar with possible paths to improve environmental performance and, in the long term, to a sustainable shipping sector, based on an understanding of the sources and mechanisms of common impacts. You will also gain knowledge on emissions and discharges from ships, prevention measures, environmental regulations, and methods and tools for environmental assessment. In addition, the book includes a chapter on the background to regulating pollution from ships. It is intended as a source of information for professionals connected to maritime activities as well as policy makers and interested public. It is also intended as a textbook in higher education academic programmes.