Download Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Humans: An by Barry Lewis, Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore PDF

By Barry Lewis, Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore

Figuring out people: creation TO actual ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY indicates scholars how anthropologists and archaeologists cross approximately their paintings as they learn human evolution, dwelling nonhuman primates, human edition and version, the foundation and dispersal of recent people, nutrition creation, the 1st civilizations of the previous and New Worlds, and much more. utilizing a biocultural method, the textual content balances the presentation of actual anthropology with archaeology and concludes with a brand new bankruptcy that ties jointly the fabric on human organic and cultural variation through targeting classes realized from our species evolution corresponding to the impression of people at the atmosphere. scholars also will enjoy the new bankruptcy starting studying goals, "At a look" sections that summarize key techniques, and end-of-chapter "Critical considering Questions" that support scholars larger comprehend the fabric and research extra successfully for assessments.

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Evolution is one of the most fundamental of biological processes, and yet it’s one of the most misunderstood. The explanation for the misunderstanding is simple. Evolution isn’t taught in most primary and secondary schools; in fact, it’s frequently avoided. In colleges and universities, evolution is covered only in classes that directly relate to it. Indeed, if you’re not an anthropology or biology major and you’re taking a class in biological anthropology mainly to fill a science requirement, you’ll probably never study evolution again.

The past, as the late paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould (1989) liked to remind us, happened, and it won’t happen again. Consequently, archaeology (and paleontology) differs in several fundamental aspects from such fields as physics and chemistry, where primary data are not anchored firmly in time and space (Dunnell, 1982). As we’ve mentioned, archaeology is also rooted in the humanities. Archaeology in general—and anthropological archaeology in particular—tries to answer many questions about the past that go beyond the search for expla- nations of general trends and patterns.

Why or why not? 3. Why is the biocultural perspective important to understanding human evolution? 4. What fundamental assumption about the relationship between human behavior and the archaeological record makes archaeology’s study of the human past possible? Can archaeology exist as a valid and reliable source of understanding the past if this assumption is true only sometimes or only under certain conditions? 5. Do you think that understanding the scientific method and developing critical thinking skills can benefit you personally?

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