Primate and Human Evolution provides a synthesis of the evolution and adaptive significance of human anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits. Using paleontology and modern human variation and biology, it compares hominid traits to those of other catarrhine primates both living and extinct, presenting a new hominization model that does not depend solely on global climate change, but on predictable trends observed in catarrhines. Dealing with the origins of hominid tool use and tool manufacture, it compares tool behavior in other animals and incorporates information from the earliest archaeological record. Examining the use of non-human primates and other mammals in modeling the origins of early human social behavior, Susan Cachel argues that human intelligence does not arise from complex social interactions, but from attentiveness to the natural world. This book will be a rich source of inspiration for all those interested in the evolution of all primates, including ourselves.
Contents
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. A brief history of primatology and human evolution; 3. The catarrhine fossil record; 4. Primate speciation and exstinction; 5. Anatomical primatology; 6. Captive studies of non-human primates; 7. What can non-human primate anatomy, physiology, and development reveal about human evolution?; 8. Natural history intelligence and human evolution; 9. Why be social? - the advantages and disadvantages of social life; 10. Evolution and behaviour; 11. The implications of body size for evolutionary ecology; 12. The nature of the fossil record; 13. The bipedal breakthrough; 14. The hominid radiation; 15. Modelling human evolution; 16. Archaeological evidence and models of human evolution; 17. What does evolutionary anthropology reveal about human evolution?; 18. Final thoughts on primate and human evolution.
Review
"In sum, Cachel's volume has a lot to say on a wide variety of topics. It is a well-written volume with a different voice concerning the hominization process. It tries mightily to bend data and principles, based on primates, to understand the process of human evolution... [it] is a worthwhile purchase, which allows each of us to reconsider our own views covering these many and varied topics."
Daniel L Gebo, American Journal of Human Biology
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