Includes bibliographical references (pages [223]-235) and index.
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?
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.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.