Close Encounters with Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our Evolving Species

In this captivating bestseller, Korea's first paleoanthropologist offers fresh insights into humanity's dawn and evolution.

What can fossilized teeth tell us about the life expectancy of our ancient ancestors? How did farming play a problematic role in the history of human evolution? How can simple geometric comparisons of skull and pelvic fossils suggest a possible origin to our social nature? And what do we truly have in common with the Neanderthals? In this captivating international bestseller, Close Encounters with Humankind, Korea's first paleoanthropologist, Sang-Hee Lee, explores some of our greatest evolutionary questions from new and unexpected angles.

Through a series of entertaining, bite-sized chapters, we gain fresh perspectives into our first hominin ancestors and ways to challenge perceptions about the traditional progression of evolution. By combining anthropological insight with exciting, cutting-edge research, Lee's surprising conclusions shed new light on our beginnings and connect us to a faraway past. For example, our big brains may have served to set our species apart and spur our societal development, but perhaps not in the ways we have often assumed. And it's possible that the Neanderthals, our infamous ancestors, were not the primitive beings portrayed by twentieth-century science. With Lee as our guide, we discover that from our first steps on two feet to our first forays into toolmaking and early formations of community, we have always been a species of continuous change.

Close Encounters with Humankind is the perfect read for anyone curious about where we came from and what it took to get us here. As we mine the evolutionary path to the present, Lee helps us to determine where we are heading and tackles one of our most pressing scientific questions-does humanity continue to evolve?

By:   Sang-Hee Lee
With:   Shin-Young Yoon
Imprint:   Norton
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 211mm,  Width: 140mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   240g
ISBN:   9780393356762
ISBN 10:   0393356760
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   May 2019
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Sang-Hee Lee is a professor of anthropology and associate dean of the college of humanities, arts, and social sciences at UC Riverside, and lives in Riverside, California. She earned her MA and PhD in anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Lee, a paleoanthropologist, tells us much about our evolutionary origins by sorting through our ancestors' mortal remains. I have struggled for years to find reading materials that cover the basics of human evolution without overwhelming students with dry, technical minutiae. At last, a book that does this! This book will appeal not only to students, but to anyone who is curious about the world.--Dean Falk, coauthor of Geeks, Genes, and the Evolution of Asperger Syndrome An exceptionally reader-friendly introduction to human evolution.... Highly accessible, consistently interesting popular science writing. Sang-Hee Lee has posed some of the big questions in human evolution and has written brief, clear, and jargon-free essays about them. Her informal, clear style and commonsense explanations are delightful and engaging. Brava!--Pat Shipman, professor of anthropology and author of The Invaders In this insightful collection, Sang-Hee Lee shows herself to be a gifted storyteller, breathing new life into the old bones, with both the intimate knowledge of a practitioner and a dose of cross-cultural scientific sensitivity. A pleasure to read!--Jonathan Marks, professor of anthropology and author of Tales of the Ex-Apes A terrific introduction to the story of human evolution for someone who is just beginning to explore the field, but even those familiar with the material will find a lot of new information here. An appealing, factual, and entertaining book on the ever-fascinating topic of human evolutionary history.--Wenda Trevathan, author of Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives Lee uses quick-take chapters and a congenial tone to give us an overview of what paleoanthropology has discovered and how it works.... Think of it as visiting some really old friends. Succinctly and engagingly, Lee revisits... key questions about the story of our evolving species--and gives some unconventional answers.