Human Evolution: Processes and Adaptations

by Steven J.C. Gaulin (Editor)

It has been suggested that a species comes of age, not when its members have mastered intergalactic travel, but when they understand the reasons for their own existence. Thanks to Darwin, Mendel, and their disciples we can focus a scientific lens on human nature and begin to explain why humans are the way they are. Using readings from a range of professional and popular sources, the anthology Human Processes and Adaptations develops the theory and methods of the modern evolutionist; then it applies this tool kit in an effort not merely to describe but also to explain the biological traits that define our species. The book links scientific articles with carefully tailored introductions, making cutting-edge research accessible to beginning students.

Topics addressed in the book Natural Selection, Genetics, and Adaptation; Studying Adaptation; Speciation and Classification; Evolution and Spread of Ancestral Humans; Ecology and Past and Present; Evolution of Altruism, Tool Use, and Language; and Evolution of Sex and Mating Systems.

This second edition offers new chapters addressing human variation in an evolutionary context, adaptive radiations, biogeography, the evolution of sex, and the evolution of human mating systems.

Human Processes and Adaptations teaches students that science is not simply a body of knowledge. It is a method for acquiring and refining knowledge.

Steven J.C. Gaulin earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. at Harvard University. Currently, he is a Professor of Integrative Anthropological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Gaulin has done field research on voles and non-human primates, and experimental research with both voles and humans. Much of his work focuses on the evolution of sex differences. In addition to 85 scientific articles, Dr. Gaulin co-authored the books Evolutionary Psychology , and Why Women Need Fat . He has just completed a ten-year term as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior .

510 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2013

Reviews

[Riversue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to how human evolution works and genetics.

[- · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only textbook I have read cover to cover. It tackles complex ideas and makes the reader’s understanding more seamless through useful analogies and useful graphics. It is set up in a way that taking notes from the main ideas is easy and the concepts stick in ones mind.