The Archaeology of Human Origins

The Archaeology of Human Origins
Author: Glynn Llywelyn Isaac
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 490
Release: 1989
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521365734

A collection of the most influential papers of the late Glynn Isaac.

Models in Archaeology

Models in Archaeology
Author: David L. Clarke
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1090
Release: 2014-10-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317606183

This major study reflects the increasing significance of careful model formation and testing in those academic subjects that are struggling from intuitive and aesthetic obscurantism toward a more disciplined and integrated approach to their fields of study. The twenty-six original contributions represent the carefully selected work of progressive archaeologists around the world, covering the use of models on archaeological material of all kinds and from all periods from Palaeolithic to Medieval. Their common theme is archaeological generalisation by means of explicit model building, testing, modification and reapplication. The contributors seek to show that it is the use of certain models in particular ways that defines archaeology as the practice of one discipline, with a set of general tenets that are as applicable in Peru as in Persia, Australia as Alaska, Sweden as Scotland, on material from the second millennium B.C. to the second millennium A.D. They assert that careful model formulation within archaeology and the cautious exchange and testing of models within and beyond the discipline provides the only route to the formation of the common, internationally valid body of theory which defines a vigorous and coherent discipline and distinguishes it from being a collection of merely regionally applicable special cases.

Hominin Environments in the East African Pliocene

Hominin Environments in the East African Pliocene
Author: René Bobe
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2007-09-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402030983

This volume presents the work of researchers at many sites spanning the East African Pliocene. The authors take a broad approach that seeks to compare paleoenvironmental and paleoecological patterns across localities and among various taxonomic groups. This volume aims to synthesize large amounts of faunal data, and to present the evolution of East African vertebrates in the context of environmental and climatic changes during the Pliocene.

Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems

Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems
Author: Mark Aldenderfer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 1996-07-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0195358953

Major advances in the use of geographic information systems have been made in both anthropology and archaeology. Yet there are few published discussions of these new applications and their use in solving complex problems. This book explores these techniques, showing how they have been successfully deployed to pursue research previously considered too difficult--or impossible--to undertake. Among the projects described here are studies of land degradation in the Peruvian Amazon, settlement patterns in the Pacific northwest, ethnic distribution within the Los Angeles garment industry, and prehistoric sociopolitical development among the Anasazi. Following an introduction that discusses the theory of geographic information systems in relation to anthropological inquiry, the book is divided into sections demonstrating actual applications in cultural anthropology, archaeology, paleoanthropology, and physical anthropology. The work will be of much interest within all these communities.

African Paleoecology and Human Evolution

African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
Author: Sally C. Reynolds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2022-06-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1009293397

Humans evolved in the dynamic landscapes of Africa under conditions of pronounced climatic, geological and environmental change during the past 7 million years. This book brings together detailed records of the paleontological and archaeological sites in Africa that provide the basic evidence for understanding the environments in which we evolved. Chapters cover specific sites, with comprehensive accounts of their geology, paleontology, paleobotany, and their ecological significance for our evolution. Other chapters provide important regional syntheses of past ecological conditions. This book is unique in merging a broad geographic scope (all of Africa) and deep time framework (the past 7 million years) in discussing the geological context and paleontological records of our evolution and that of organisms that evolved alongside our ancestors. It will offer important insights to anyone interested in human evolution, including researchers and graduate students in paleontology, archaeology, anthropology and geology.

Asian Paleoanthropology

Asian Paleoanthropology
Author: Christopher J. Norton
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2010-08-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9048190940

This volume brings together a group of authors that address the question of the first out of Africa into Asia c. 2 Ma. The scope of the book is comprehensive as it covers almost every major region of Asia. The primary goal of this volume is to provide an updated synthesis of the current state of the Asian paleoanthropological and paleoenvironmental records. Papers include detailed studies of the theoretical constructs underlying the move out of Africa, including detailed reconstructions of the paleoenvironment and possible migration routes. Other papers detail the Plio-Pleistocene archaeological and hominin fossil records of particular regions.

Landscapes of Human Evolution

Landscapes of Human Evolution
Author: James Cole
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2020-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1789693802

Fourteen papers are presented here in honour of John Gowlett. John has a wide range of research interests primarily focused on the human genus Homo and is a world leader in understanding the cognitive and behavioural preconditions necessary for the emergence of complex behaviours such as language and art.

The Leakeys

The Leakeys
Author: Mary Bowman-Kruhm
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2005-08-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0313062110

Three generations of Leakeys have dug in East Africa for fossil evidence that answers questions about human origins. Louis and Mary, husband and wife, began what would turn into decades of research and fieldwork, often disproving common theories and beliefs of the time. Son Richard followed in his parents' foot steps, along with his wife Meave, and made spectacular finds as well. Today, Louise, the oldest daughter of Richard and Meave, continues the family tradition with fieldwork in northern Kenya. The Leakey family's achievements have had an enormous impact on our knowledge of human origins and evolution. This biography describes their life in detail, including their discoveries, publications, controversies, and legacy. A timeline, glossary, and bibliography of print and electronic sources supplement the material.

Africa and Archaeology

Africa and Archaeology
Author: Merrick Posnansky
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2009-04-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0857710087

In this stimulating account of his life's experiences, Africanist archaeologist Merrick Posnansky takes his readers on an unusual journey across the world, from his origins in a small Jewish community in Manchester to his adventures on archaeological sites in the villages of Africa before finally settling down to teach in Los Angeles. A Jewish British expatriate in an African social world, Posnansky struggled to establish his racial identity in the British colonial world where Jewish communities were rare. He crossed racial and religious boundaries by marrying a Christian woman from Uganda, a highly unusual step at that time. Written in a candid style, these memoirs provide a fascinating glimpse into the changes taking place in modern Africa.

Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa

Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa
Author: Amanuel Beyin
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 2194
Release: 2023-08-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3031202902

This handbook showcases an Africa-wide compendium of Stone Age archaeological sites and methodological advances that have improved our understanding of hominin lifeways and biogeography in the continent. The focal time spans the Pleistocene Epoch (c. 2.5 million–11,700 years ago) during which important human traits, such as obligate bipedalism that freed the hands to engage in creative activities, a large brain relative to body size, language, and social complexity, developed in the general forms that they are found today. The handbook is the first of its kind, and it is expected to play a significant role in human evolutionary research by: ❖ Collating the African Stone Age record, which exists in a fragmented state along the lines of national boundaries and colonial experiences. ❖ Showcasing emerging conceptual and methodological advances in African Pleistocene archaeology. ❖ Providing reference datasets for teaching and researching African prehistory. ❖ Making Africa’s Stone Age record accessible to researchers and students based in Africa who may not have access to journal publications where most new field discoveries are published. The Handbook features 128 chapters, of which 116 are site entries grouped by the host countries and presented in an alphabetical order. A number of those site-related entries examine multiple archaeological localities lumped under specific projects or study areas. The rest of the contributions deal with methodological topics, such as luminescence and radiocarbon dating, field data recovery, lithic analysis, micromorphology, and hominin fossil and zooarchaeological records of Pleistocene Africa. The introductory chapter provides an historical overview of the development of Stone Age (Paleolithic) archaeology in Africa beginning in the mid-19th century, and paleoenvironmental and chronological frameworks commonly used to structure the continent’s Pleistocene record. By making a good amount of African Stone Age literature accessible to researchers and the public, we wish to promote interest in human evolutionary research in the continent and elsewhere.