Kaye E. Reed - Böcker

An introduction to the multidisciplinary field of hominin paleoecology for advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students, Early Hominin Paleoecology offers an up-to-date review of the relevant literature, exploring new research and synthesizing old and new ideas.Recent advances in the field and the laboratory are not only improving our understanding of human evolution but are also transforming it. Given the increasing specialization of the individual fields of study in hominin paleontology, communicating research results and data is difficult, especially to a broad audience of graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and the interested public. Early Hominin Paleoecology provides a good working knowledge of the subject while also presenting a solid grounding in the sundry ways this knowledge has been constructed. The book is divided into three sections—climate and environment (with a particular focus on the latter), adaptation and behavior, and modern analogs and models—and features contributors from various fields of study, including archaeology, primatology, paleoclimatology, sedimentology, and geochemistry.Early Hominin Paleoecology is an accessible introduction into this fascinating and ever-evolving field and will be essential to any student interested in pursuing research in human paleoecology.Additional Contributors:David BraunBeth ChristensenDavid J. DaeglingCrag FeibelFred E. GrineClifford Jolly Naomi E. LevinMark A. MaslinJohn MitaniJay QuadeAmy L. Rector Jeanne SeptLillian M. SpencerMark Teaford Carol V. WardKaty E. Wilson

This volume brings together an international roster of scientists, many of which have spent their careers researching the fossil evidence for, and the context of, the taxa that are conventionally subsumed within the genus Paranthropus, to present and synthesize the latest research about the paleobiology of Paranthropus. Among the topics and questions collectively explored are the following:-       The history of the “robust australopiths”.-       Fossil evidence from sites in eastern and southern Africa.-       The context of the relevant fossil evidence (e.g., dating, paleohabitat, etc.).-       Functional and adaptive significance of the relevant fossil evidence (e.g. diet, posture, locomotion, dexterity, etc).-       Taxonomy and systematics (e.g., primary and secondary evidence relevant to determining the evolutionary relationships among the fossil evidence from eastern and southern Africa).-       Synthesis and summary, including whether and how a better understanding of Paranthropus can inform us about the evolutionary history of our own genus. This much needed volume presents the first comprehensive review of Paranthropus in more than three decades, and will appeal to researchers, graduate students, and upper level undergraduate students.

Australopithecus species have been the topic of much debate in palaeoanthropology since Raymond Dart described the first species, Australopithecus africanus, in 1925. This volume synthesizes the geological and paleontological context of the species in East and South Africa; covers individual sites, such as Dikika, Hadar, Sterkfontein, and Malapa; debates the alpha taxonomy of some of the species; and addresses questions regarding the movements of the species across the continent. Additional chapters discuss the genus in terms of sexual dimorphism, diet reconstruction using microwear and isotopic methodologies, postural and locomotor behavior, and ontogeny.