Essentials of Physical Anthropology

481 Pages·2015·102.48 MB·English

by  Clark Spencer Larsen

ESSENTIALS OF PHYSICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY

T H I R D   E D I T I O N
E SSE NTIAL S OF
PHYSICAL
ANTH ROPOLOGY
D I S C O V E R I N G O U R O R I G I N S
CLARK SPENCER LARSEN
T HE OH IO S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
Bn
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Larsen, Clark Spencer.
Essentials of physical anthropology : discovering our origins / Clark Spencer Larsen, The Ohio State
University.—Third edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-393-93866-1 (pbk.)
1. Physical anthropology. I. Title.
GN50.4.L367 2015
599.9—dc23
2015023645
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
TO CHRIS AND SPENCER, WITH MY DEEPEST
THANKS FOR THEIR HELP, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND
(UNWAVERING) PATIENCE
v
ABOUT TH E AUTHOR
CLARK SPENCER LARSEN heads the Department of Anthropology at
The Ohio State University, Columbus. A native of Nebraska, he received
his B.A. from Kansas State University and M.A. and Ph.D. from the Uni-
versity of Michigan. Clark’s research is in bioarchaeology, skeletal biol-
ogy, and paleoanthropology. He has worked in North America, Europe,
and Asia. He has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Northern Illi-
nois University, Purdue University, and the University of North Carolina.
Since 2001, he has been a member of the faculty at Ohio State, where
he is Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He
teaches introductory physical anthropology, osteology, bioarchaeology,
and paleoanthropology. Clark has served as president of the American
Association of Physical Anthropologists and as editor- in- chief of the
American Journal of Physical Anthropology. In addition to Our Origins,
he has authored or edited 30 books and monographs, including Bioar-
chaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton, Skeletons
in Our Closet, Advances in Dental Anthropology, and A Companion to
Biological Anthropology.
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BAS I C TAB LE OF C ONTENTS
To the Instructor xx
To the Student xxviii
CHAPTER 1 What Is Physical Anthropology? 2
PART I The Present: Foundation for the
Past 19
CHAPTER 2 Evolution: Constructing a Fundamental Scientific Theory 20
CHAPTER 3 Genetics: Reproducing Life and Producing Variation 42
CHAPTER 4 Genes and Their Evolution: Population Genetics 70
CHAPTER 5 Biology in the Present: Living People 100
CHAPTER 6 Biology in the Present: The Other Living Primates 132
CHAPTER 7 Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and Culture 164
PART II The Past: Evidence for the
Present 183
CHAPTER 8 Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature 184
CHAPTER 9 Primate Origins and Evolution: The First 50 Million Years 216
CHAPTER 10 E arly Hominin Origins and Evolution: The Roots of Humanity 244
CHAPTER 11 The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo 282
CHAPTER 12 The Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of Modern People 306
CHAPTER 13 Our Last 10,000 Years: Agriculture, Population, Biology 350
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viii
TAB LE OF C ONTENT
S
Two-Page Spreads xix
To the Instructor xx
Tools for Teaching and Learning xxiii
Who Helped xxv
To the Student xxviii
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS PHYSICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY? 2
Big Questions 3
What Is Anthropology? 5
What Is Physical Anthropology? 7
What Do Physical Anthropologists Do? 7
What Makes Humans So Different from Other Animals?: The Six Steps to
Humanness 8
How We Know What We Know: The Scientific Method 14
Answering the Big Questions 16
Key Terms 17
Evolution Review 17
Additional Readings 17
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