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Not by genes alone : how culture transformed human evolution / Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd.
Ebook Central Perpetual, DDA and Subscription Titles Available online
Ebook Central Perpetual, DDA and Subscription Titles- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Richerson, Peter J.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Social evolution.
- Culture--Origin.
- Culture.
- Human evolution.
- Human behavior.
- Sociobiology.
- Evolution.
- Medical Subjects:
- Culture.
- Evolution.
- Sociobiology.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (ix, 332 pages) : illustrations
- Place of Publication:
- Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2005]
- System Details:
- text file
- Summary:
- Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth, and our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal's. In Not by Genes Alone, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics.
- Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd consider culture to be essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics-and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them-Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked.
- In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and ground-breaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come.
- Contents:
- Culture is essential
- Culture exists
- Culture evolves
- Culture is an adaptation
- Culture is maladaptive
- Culture and genes coevolve
- Nothing about culture makes sense except in the light of evolution.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-315) and indexes.
- Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI Available via World Wide Web.
- Description based on print version record.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9780226712130
- 0226712133
- Publisher Number:
- 99986331564
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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