From Fossils to Mind

From Fossils to Mind
Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2023-02-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0323991084

From Fossils to Mind, Volume 275 in the Progress in Brain Research series, presents chapters on a variety of interesting topics, including What could our premammalian ancestors hear, see, smell, and touch? A review of ten years of research about cynodont paleoneurology, Endocasts of ornithopod dinosaurs: anatomy and comparison, Adaptationism and Structuralism in Brain Evolution Research, Genomic approaches for tracing the evolution of brain ageing and neurodegenerative diseases, Investigating the Coevolution of Language and Tools in the Brain: An ALE Meta-analysis of Neural Activation During Syntactic Processing and Tool Use, and more. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in Progress in Brain Research serials - Updated release includes the latest information on From Fossils and Mind

Human Paleoneurology

Human Paleoneurology
Author: Emiliano Bruner
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2014-07-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 331908500X

The book presents an integrative review of paleoneurology, the study of endocranial morphology in fossil species. The main focus is on showing how computed methods can be used to support advances in evolutionary neuroanatomy, paleoanthropology and archaeology and how they have contributed to creating a completely new perspective in cognitive neuroscience. Moreover, thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, the book addresses students and researchers approaching human paleoneurology from different angles and for different purposes, such as biologists, physicians, anthropologists, archaeologists and computer scientists. The individual chapters, written by international experts, represent authoritative reviews of the most important topics in the field. All the concepts are presented in an easy-to-understand style, making them accessible to university students, newcomers and also to anyone interested in understanding how methods like biomedical imaging, digital anatomy and computed and multivariate morphometrics can be used for analyzing ontogenetic and phylogenetic changes according to the principles of functional morphology, morphological integration and modularity.

Evolution

Evolution
Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 891
Release: 2017-08-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0231543166

Donald R. Prothero’s Evolution is an entertaining and rigorous history of the transitional forms and series found in the fossil record. Its engaging narrative of scientific discovery and well-grounded analysis has led to the book’s widespread adoption in courses that teach the nature and value of fossil evidence for evolution. Evolution tackles systematics and cladistics, rock dating, neo-Darwinism, and macroevolution. It includes extensive coverage of the primordial soup, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the transformation from early hominid to modern human. The book also details the many alleged “missing links” in the fossil record, including some of the most recent discoveries that flesh out the fossil timeline and the evolutionary process. In this second edition, Prothero describes new transitional fossils from various periods, vividly depicting such bizarre creatures as the Odontochelys, or the “turtle on the half shell”; fossil snakes with legs; and the “Frogamander,” a new example of amphibian transition. Prothero’s discussion of intelligent design arguments includes more historical examples and careful examination of the “experiments” and observations that are exploited by creationists seeking to undermine sound science education. With new perspectives, Prothero reframes creationism as a case study in denialism and pseudoscience rather than a field with its own intellectual dynamism. The first edition was hailed as an exemplary exploration of the fossil evidence for evolution, and this second edition will be welcome in the libraries of scholars, teachers, and general readers who stand up for sound science in this post-truth era.

The Fossil Chronicles

The Fossil Chronicles
Author: Dean Falk
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2011-10-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520274466

"With wit and authority, Falk tells the parallel stories of two fossil discoveries that surprised the world, revealing the larger significance of these finds. Her lively recounting combines new historical research with her first-hand involvement in controversial interpretations."—Pat Shipman, author of The Animal Connection and The Man Who Found the Missing Link “An absorbing and engagingly personal account, by a leading participant, of two of the major “brain wars” that have raged along the path to our current understanding of human evolution.”--Ian Tattersall, author of The Fossil Trail and Human Origins “In The Fossil Chronicles, Falk engages us with a ‘tale of two brains’. While navigating the surfaces of these ancient brains, she reveals the convolutions of scientific controversies and how personalities and paleopolitics shape the ways we think about human evolution.”—Nina G. Jablonski, author of Skin: A Natural History

Some Assembly Required

Some Assembly Required
Author: Neil Shubin
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1101871342

An exciting and accessible new view of the evolution of human and animal life on Earth. From the author of national bestseller, Your Inner Fish, this extraordinary journey of discovery spans centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity. “Fossils, DNA, scientists with a penchant for suits of armor—what’s not to love?”—BBC Wildlife Magazine Over billions of years, ancient fish evolved to walk on land, reptiles transformed into birds that fly, and apelike primates evolved into humans that walk on two legs, talk, and write. For more than a century, paleontologists have traveled the globe to find fossils that show how such changes have happened. We have now arrived at a remarkable moment—prehistoric fossils coupled with new DNA technology have given us the tools to answer some of the basic questions of our existence: How do big changes in evolution happen? Is our presence on Earth the product of mere chance? This new science reveals a multibillion-year evolutionary history filled with twists and turns, trial and error, accident and invention. In Some Assembly Required, Neil Shubin takes readers on a journey of discovery spanning centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity.

Your Inner Fish

Your Inner Fish
Author: Neil Shubin
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2008-01-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0307377164

The paleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discovered Tiktaalik, the “fish with hands,” tells a “compelling scientific adventure story that will change forever how you understand what it means to be human” (Oliver Sacks). By examining fossils and DNA, he shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our heads are organized like long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genomes look and function like those of worms and bacteria. Your Inner Fish makes us look at ourselves and our world in an illuminating new light. This is science writing at its finest—enlightening, accessible and told with irresistible enthusiasm.

Dinosaurs Without Bones

Dinosaurs Without Bones
Author: Anthony J. Martin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 683
Release: 2021-07-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1643139215

"Bubbles over with the joy of scientific discovery as he shares his natural enthusiasm for the blend of sleuthing and imagination."—Publishers Weekly, starred review What if we woke up one morning all of the dinosaur bones in the world were gone? How would we know these iconic animals had a165-million year history on earth, and had adapted to all land-based environments from pole to pole? What clues would be left to discern not only their presence, but also to learn about their sex lives, raising of young, social lives, combat, and who ate who? What would it take for us to know how fast dinosaurs moved, whether they lived underground, climbed trees, or went for a swim?Welcome to the world of ichnology, the study of traces and trace fossils – such as tracks, trails, burrows, nests, toothmarks, and other vestiges of behavior – and how through these remarkable clues, we can explore and intuit the rich and complicated lives of dinosaurs. With a unique, detective-like approach, interpreting the forensic clues of these long-extinct animals that leave a much richer legacy than bones, Martin brings the wild world of the Mesozoic to life for the 21st century reader.

Fossil by Fossil

Fossil by Fossil
Author: Sara Levine
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2018
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1467794899

What kind of dinosaur had a bony ridge that rose up from the back of its skull and three horns poking up from the front? A triceratops! This lively picture book will keep readers guessing as they find out what they might look like if they were a variety of different dinosaur species. Full color.

Evolution: the Grand Experiment

Evolution: the Grand Experiment
Author: Dr. Carl Werner
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780892216819

"Darwin's book on evolution admitted that "intermediate links" were "perhaps the most obvious and serious objection to the theory" of evolution. Darwin recognized that the fossils collected by scientists prior to 1859 did not correspond with his theory of evolution, but he predicted that his theory would be confirmed as more and more fossils were found. One hundred and fifty years later, Evolution: The Grand Experiment critically examines the viability of Darwin's theory"--

Rereading the Fossil Record

Rereading the Fossil Record
Author: David Sepkoski
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2015-03-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 022627294X

Rereading the Fossil Record presents the first-ever historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By tracing the role of computer technology, large databases, and quantitative analytical methods in the emergence of paleobiology, this book also offers insight into the growing prominence and centrality of data-driven approaches in recent science.