The Improbable Primate

How Water Shaped Human Evolution

Clive Finlayson (Director of the Gibraltar Museum)

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Hardback

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English

Oxford University Press
10 April 2014

Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Ecological science, the Biosphere; Evolution

In this fresh and provocative view of a seven-million-year evolutionary journey, Finlayson demonstrates the radical implications for the interpretation of fossils and technologies and shows that understanding humans within an ecological context provides insights into the emergence and spread of Homo sapiens worldwide. Finlayson argues that environmental change, particularly availability of water, played a critical role in shaping the direction of human evolution, contributing to our spread and success. He argues that our ancestors carved a niche for themselves by leaving the forest and forcing their way into a long-established community of carnivores in a tropical savannah as climate changes opened up the landscape. They took their chance at high noon, when most other predators were asleep. Adapting to this new lifestyle by shedding their hair and developing an active sweating system to keep cool, being close to fresh water was vital. As the climate dried, our ancestors, already bipedal, became taller and slimmer, more adept at travelling farther in search of water. The challenges of seeking water in a drying landscape moulded the minds and bodies of early humans, and directed their migrations and eventual settlements.

By: Clive Finlayson (Director of the Gibraltar Museum)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 224mm, Width: 148mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 376g
ISBN: 9780199658794
ISBN 10: 019965879X
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 10 April 2014
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Clive Finlayson is a noted expert on the Neanderthals and has been researching their final stand in Gibraltar. He is Director of the Gibraltar Museum and Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, having trained in Oxford as an evolutionary ecologist. His previous books include Neanderthals andModern Humans: An Ecological and Evolutinary Perspective and The Humans Who Went Extinct.

Reviews for The Improbable Primate: How Water Shaped Human Evolution

The Improbable Primate provides a useful starting point for this next great challenge. * Nature * Did water make people human? Mr Finlayson certainly makes a convincing case. * The Economist *