How Humans Evolved

Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 4
Title Page......Page 5
ABOUT THE AUTHORS......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface......Page 17
Prologue: Why Study Human Evolution?......Page 23
PART ONE: HOW EVOLUTION WORKS......Page 29
Explaining Adaptation before Darwin......Page 30
Darwin’s Theory of Adaptation......Page 32
The Evolution of Complex Adaptations......Page 40
Rates of Evolutionary Change......Page 45
Darwin’s Difficulties Explaining Variation......Page 49
Mendelian Genetics......Page 52
Cell Division and the Role of Chromosomes in Inheritance......Page 54
BOX 2.1 MORE ON RECOMBINATION......Page 62
Molecular Genetics......Page 65
Population Genetics......Page 81
BOX 3.1 GENOTYPIC FREQUENCIES AFTER TWO GENERATIONS OF RANDOM MATING......Page 87
The Modern Synthesis......Page 88
Natural Selection and Behavior......Page 96
Constraints on Adaptation......Page 99
BOX 3.2 THE GEOMETRY OF AREA/VOLUME RATIOS......Page 109
What Are Species?......Page 113
The Origin of Species......Page 119
The Tree of Life......Page 124
Why Reconstruct Phylogenies?......Page 127
BOX 4.1 THE ROLE OF PHYLOGENY IN THE COMPARATIVE METHOD......Page 130
How to Reconstruct Phylogenies......Page 131
Taxonomy: Naming Names......Page 137
PART TWO: PRIMATE ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR......Page 143
Two Reasons to Study Primates......Page 144
Features That Define the Primates......Page 146
A Taxonomy of Living Primates......Page 150
Primate Ecology......Page 155
BOX 5.1 TEETH AND GUTS: YOU ARE WHAT YOU CAN CHEW......Page 159
Primate Sociality......Page 169
BOX 5.2 FORMS OF SOCIAL GROUPS AMONG PRIMATES......Page 170
Primate Conservation......Page 171
CHAPTER 6: Primate Mating Systems......Page 176
The Language of Adaptive Explanations......Page 177
The Evolution of Reproductive Strategies......Page 178
Reproductive Strategies of Females......Page 180
BOX 6.1  DOMINANCE HIERARCHIES......Page 184
Sexual Selection and Male Mating Strategies......Page 189
Male Reproductive Tactics......Page 193
Altruism: A Puzzle......Page 204
Mutualism......Page 205
The Problem with Group-Level Explanations......Page 206
Kin Selection......Page 208
BOX 7.2 HOW RELATIONSHIPS ARE MAINTAINED......Page 215
Reciprocal Altruism......Page 220
Big Brains and Long Lives......Page 226
Life History Theory......Page 227
Selective Pressures Favoring Large Brains in Anthropoid Primates......Page 231
What Do Monkeys Know about One Another?......Page 234
The Value of Studying Primate Behavior......Page 242
PART THREE: THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN LINEAGE......Page 245
CHAPTER 9: From Tree Shrew to Ape......Page 246
Continental Drift and Climate Change......Page 249
The Methods of Paleontology......Page 251
BOX 9.1 USING DEEP-SEA CORES TO RECONSTRUCT ANCIENT CLIMATES......Page 252
The Evolution of the Early Primates......Page 255
The First Anthropoids......Page 259
BOX 9.2 FACTS THAT TEETH CAN REVEAL......Page 262
BOX 9.3 MISSING LINKS......Page 266
The Emergence of the Hominoids......Page 268
CHAPTER 10: From Hominoid to Hominin......Page 274
At the Beginning......Page 276
BOX 10.1 WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A BIPED......Page 277
The Hominin Community Diversifies......Page 281
Hominin Phylogenies......Page 298
The Evolution of Early Hominin Morphology and Behavior......Page 299
The Oldowan Toolmakers......Page 310
BOX 11.1 ANCIENT TOOLMAKING AND TOOL USE......Page 312
Complex Foraging Shapes Human Life History......Page 314
BOX 11.2 WHY MEAT EATING FAVORS FOOD SHARING......Page 318
Evidence for Complex Foraging by Oldowan Toolmakers......Page 320
Back to the Future: The Transition to Modern Human Life Histories......Page 331
CHAPTER 12: From Hominin to Homo......Page 333
Hominins of the Lower Pleistocene: Homo ergaster......Page 334
Hominins of the Early Middle Pleistocene (900 to 300 kya)......Page 347
Hominins of the Later Pleistocene (300 to 50 kya)......Page 352
The Sources of Change......Page 365
The Muddle in the Middle......Page 366
CHAPTER 13: Homo sapiensand the Evolution of Modern Human Behavior......Page 370
Morphological Features of Modern Homo sapiens......Page 371
Genetic Features of Modern Homo sapiens......Page 373
Archaeological Evidence for Modern Human Behavior......Page 376
The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans......Page 386
BOX 13.1 MITOCHONDRIAL EVE......Page 394
Modern Human Behavior: Revolution or Evolution?......Page 403
BOX 13.2 ARCY-SUR-CURE AND THE CAUSES OF MODERN HUMAN BEHAVIOR......Page 409
PART FOUR: EVOLUTION AND MODERN HUMANS......Page 413
Explaining Human Variation......Page 414
Variation in Traits Influenced by Single Genes......Page 418
BOX 14.1 CALCULATING GENE FREQUENCIES FOR A BALANCED POLYMORPHISM......Page 422
Variation in Complex Phenotypic Traits......Page 432
The Race Concept......Page 437
Why Evolution Is Relevant to Human Behavior......Page 445
Understanding How We Think......Page 448
BOX 15.1 WHY INBRED MATINGS ARE BAD NEWS......Page 451
Evolution and Human Culture......Page 459
BOX 15.2 UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCES OF BEHAVIORAL VARIATION......Page 463
CHAPTER 16: Human Mate Choice and Parenting......Page 471
The Psychology of Human Mate Preferences......Page 472
Some Social Consequences of Mate Preferences......Page 481
Raising Children......Page 486
Is Human Evolution Over?......Page 498
Epilogue: There Is Grandeur in This View of Life......Page 501
Appendix: The Skeletal Anatomy of Primates......Page 503
Glossary......Page 505
Credits......Page 519
Index......Page 525