Alan D. Grinnell – författare

The result of decades of study, Alan Grinnell's Painting the Cosmos presents the spectacular and underappreciated art of Panama and its revealing iconography. Emphasizing brightly painted polychrome designs with complex iconography on myriad ceramic forms, the art of Central Panama (ca. 200 BCE-1400 CE) is highly distinctive compared to other pre-Columbian cultures. The book illustrates more than eight hundred vessels in full color, many of which will be unfamiliar even to pre-Columbian specialists, and proposes interpretations of the iconography informed by the archaeology, history, and ethnohistory of the region. In these animistic cultures, much of the iconography reflected interactions of humans with the natural world. The author identifies persistent design themes that reflect the myths and beliefs of these ancient peoples.Enriched by current scholarship, this beautifully produced volume fills a major gap in the knowledge of and appreciation for the art and cultures of the ancient Americas. It serves as both an introduction to this unique and relatively unknown culture and a resource for scholars in pre-Columbian history, art, and culture.

Arguably biosonar is one of the ‘eye-opening’ discoveries about animal behavior and the auditory systems of echolocators are front and center in this story.  Echolocation by bats has proven to be a virtual gold mine for colleagues studying neurobiology, while providing many rich examples of its impact on other areas of bats’ lives.  In this volume we briefly review the history of the topic (reminding readers of the 1995 Hearing by Bats).  We use a chapter on new findings in the phylogeny of bats to put the information that follows in an evolutionary context. This includes an examination of the possible roles of Prestin and FoxP2 genes and various anatomical features affecting bat vocalizations.  We introduce recent work on the role of noseleafs, ears, and other facial components on the focusing of sound and collection of echoes. ​