A Companion to Biological Anthropology (eBook)

Clark Spencer Larsen is Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at The Ohio State University. He has served as president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. He is the author or editor of more than 25 books and monographs, including Advances in Dental Anthropology (with Marc A. Kelley, 1991), Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton (1997), Skeletons in Our Closet: Revealing Our Past through Bioarchaeology (2002), and Our Origins: Discovering Physical Anthropology (2008).

List of Illustrations x

List of Tables xvi

Notes on Contributors xvii

Acknowledgments xxv

Introduction 1

Part I History 11

1 History of Biological Anthropology 13

Michael A. Little and Robert W. Sussman

Part II The Present and the Living 39

2 Evolution: What It Means and How We Know 41

Kenneth M. Weiss and Anne V. Buchanan

3 Systematics, Taxonomy, and Phylogenetics: Ordering Life, Past
and Present 56

Bernard A. Wood

4 The Study of Human Population Genetics 74

John H. Relethford

5 Human Molecular Genetics: The DNA Revolution and Variation
88

Dennis H. O'Rourke

6 Deconstructing Race: Racial Thinking, Geographic Variation,
and Implications for Biological Anthropology 104

Rachel Caspari

7 Growth, Development, Senescence, and Aging: A Life History
Perspective 124

Douglas E. Crews and Barry Bogin

8 Climate-Related Morphological Variation and Physiological
Adaptations in Homo sapiens 153

Gary D. James

9 Emerging Themes in Anthropology and Epidemiology: Geographic
Spread, Evolving Pathogens, and Syndemics 167

Lisa Sattenspiel and D. Ann Herring

10 Demographic Estimation: Indirect Techniques for
Anthropological Populations 179

Timothy B. Gage

11 Nutrition, Health, and Function 194

Darna L. Dufour

12 Ongoing Evolution in Humans 207

Lorena Madrigal and Jessica Willoughby

13 Primates Defined 222

W. Scott McGraw

14 Primate Behavior and Sociality 243

Karen B. Strier

15 Evolution of the Brain, Cognition, and Speech 258

Dean Falk

Part III The Past and the Dead 273

16 Primate Origins: The Early Cenozoic Fossil Record 275

Gregg F. Gunnell and Mary T. Silcox

17 Catarrhine Cousins: The Origin and Evolution of Monkeys and
Apes of the Old World 295

David R. Begun

18 The Earliest Hominins 314

Scott W. Simpson

19 Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of Early Members of the
Genus Homo 341

G. Philip Rightmire

20 Species, Populations, and Assimilation in Later Human
Evolution 357

Fred H. Smith

21 Bioarchaeology: Health, Lifestyle, and Society in Recent
Human Evolution 379

Clark Spencer Larsen and Phillip L. Walker

22 Paleopathology: A Contemporary Perspective 395

Jane E. Buikstra

23 Issues in Forensic Anthropology 412

Douglas H. Ubelaker

24 Paleogenetics: Ancient DNA in Anthropology 427

Frederika A. Kaestle

Part IV The Living and the Dead 443

25 Diet Reconstruction and Ecology Using Stable Isotope Ratios
445

Margaret J. Schoeninger

26 Current Concepts in Bone Biology 465

James H. Gosman and Samuel D. Stout

27 'Growing Planes': Incremental Growth Layers in
the Dental Enamel of Human Ancestors 485

Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg

28 Understanding Skull Function from a Mechanobiological
Perspective 501

David J. Daegling

29 Tooth Form and Function in Biological Anthropology 516

Peter S. Ungar and Peter W. Lucas

30 Locomotor Function across Primates (Including Humans)
530

Daniel L. Gebo

Part V Science and Education 545

31 Science Education and Physical Anthropology 547

Martin K. Nickels

Index 561

"Even with so many topics of biological anthropology
discussed, due care is given in each section by the authors to
include enough information to give an adequate foundation and then
expand upon it in subsequent sections. I would highly recommend
this book - there is something in it for everyone. I was
pleased to come away from it having learnt something
myself." (Primate Eye, 1 February 2012)

"For those of us who teach introduction to physical (or
biological) anthropology on a regular basis, the book provides an
efficient avenue to catch up on diverse topics in the field."
(American Journal of Human Biology, 2011)

"Recommended. Upper-divisions undergraduates and above." (Choice
, 1 April 2011)