The strange case of the rickety Cossack : and other cautionary tales from human evolution / Ian Tattersall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tattersall, Ian, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoanthropology.

Human evolution.

Fossil hominids.

Paleontology.

Biological Evolution.

Paleopathology.

Medical Subjects:

Paleontology.

Biological Evolution.

Paleopathology.

Physical Description:

xii, 244 pages : black and white illlustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, [2015]

Summary:

"In his new book human paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall argues that a long tradition of "human exceptionalism" in paleoanthropology has distorted the picture of human evolution. Drawing partly on his own career-- from young scientist in awe of his elders to crotchety elder statesman-- Tattersall offers an idiosyncratic look at the competitive world of paleoanthropology, beginning with Charles Darwin 150 years ago, and continuing through the Leakey dynasty in Africa, and concluding with the latest astonishing findings in the Caucasus. With tact and humor, Tattersall concludes that we are not the perfected products of natural processes, but instead the result of substantial doses of random happenstance"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Lemurs and the delights of fieldwork

Humankind's place in nature

People get a fossil record

Neanderthals and man-apes

The synthesis and Handy Man

Evolutionary refinements

The gilded age

Meanwhile, back at the museum ...

Turkana, the Afar, and Dmanisi

Molecules and midgets

Neanderthals, DNA, and creativity

Why does it matter how we evolved?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-235) and index.

ISBN:

9781137278890

1137278897

OCLC:

889523591

Online:

Cover image