The story of human evolution has fascinated us like no other area of science: we have an insatiable curiosity about who we are and where we came from.
Yet studying the stones and bones seems to skirt around what is perhaps the realest, and most relatable, story of human evolution - the social and cognitive changes that gave rise to modern humans.
In Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior, Robin Dunbar appeals to the human aspects of every reader. Subjects such as mating, friendship and community are discussed from the perspective of evolutionary psychology.
From prehistoric times to the modern day, Human Evolution focuses on an aspect of evolution that has typically been overshadowed by the archaeological record: the biological, neurological and genetic changes that occurred with each transition in the evolutionary narrative.
Dunbar's interdisciplinary approach - inspired by his background as both an anthropologist and accomplished psychologist - brings the reader into all aspects of the evolutionary process, which Dunbar describes as the jigsaw puzzle of evolution that he and the reader will help solve.
In doing so, the book carefully maps out each stage of the evolutionary process, from anatomical changes such as bipedalism and the increase in brain size, to cognitive and behavioural changes, such as the ability to cook, laugh and use language to form communities through religion and story-telling.
Most importantly and interestingly, Dunbar hypothesises the order in which these evolutionary changes occurred - conclusions that are reached with the time budget model theory that Dunbar himself coined. As definitive as stones and bones are for the hard dates of archaeological evidence, this book explores far more complex psychological questions that require a degree of intellectual speculation: What does it really mean to be human (as opposed to being an ape) and how did we come to be that way?
By:
Robin Dunbar
Imprint: Oxford University Press, USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 157mm,
Spine: 38mm
Weight: 703g
ISBN: 9780190616786
ISBN 10: 0190616784
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 12 December 2016
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
CHAPTER 1 What We Have to Explain CHAPTER 2 The Bases of Primate Sociality CHAPTER 3 The Essential Framework CHAPTER 4 The First Transition: THE AUSTRALOPITHECINES CHAPTER 5 The Second Transition: EARLY HOMO CHAPTER 6 The Third Transition: ARCHAIC HUMANS CHAPTER 7 The Fourth Transition: MODERN HUMANS CHAPTER 8 How Kinship, Language and Culture Came to Be CHAPTER 9 The Fifth Transition: THE NEOLITHIC AND BEYOND
Robin Dunbar is an evolutionary psychologist and former director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology in the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. His acclaimed books include How Many Friends Does One Person Need? and Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, described by Malcolm Gladwell as a marvellous work of popular science.
Reviews for Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior
Dunbar's idea has gained in popularity among many scholars, and his narrative is so mesmerizing it may attract many general readers, too. --Publishers Weekly, starred review Human Evolution offers a compelling story, one that resonates with human nature even now. --Maclean's A compelling journey into human nature, from the roots of our sociality to the rise of storytelling. --Nature
