Robert B. Eckhardt - Böcker

Human Paleobiology provides a unifying framework for the study of human populations, both past and present, to a range of changing environments. It integrates evidence from studies of human adaptability, comparative primatology, and molecular genetics to document consistent measures of genetic distance between subspecies, species and other taxonomic groupings. These findings support the interpretation of the biology of humans in terms of a smaller number of populations characterised by higher levels of genetic continuity than previously hypothesised. Using this as a basis, Robert Eckhardt then goes on to analyse problems in human paleobiology including phenotypic differentiation, patterns of species range expansion and phyletic succession in terms of the patterns and processes still observable in extant populations. This book will be a challenging and stimulating read for students and researchers interested in human paleobiology or evolutionary anthropology.

Human Paleobiology provides a unifying framework for the study of human populations, both past and present, to a range of changing environments. It integrates evidence from studies of human adaptability, comparative primatology, and molecular genetics to document consistent measures of genetic distance between subspecies, species and other taxonomic groupings. These findings support the interpretation of the biology of humans in terms of a smaller number of populations characterised by higher levels of genetic continuity than previously hypothesised. Using this as a basis, Robert Eckhardt then goes on to analyse problems in human paleobiology including phenotypic differentiation, patterns of species range expansion and phyletic succession in terms of the patterns and processes still observable in extant populations. This book will be a challenging and stimulating read for students and researchers interested in human paleobiology or evolutionary anthropology.

When scientists found the remains of a tiny hominid on an Indonesian in 2004, they claimed they found a totally new species of human ancestor (homo floresiensis), and called it a Hobbit. Film crews rolled in and the little creature took the world by storm, but a group of prominent scientists, including Maciej Henneberg and Robert Eckhardt, smelled a rat. They refuted the data—the size and shape of bones, the inferences about height—and they raised fundamental questions about scientific method, revealing cultural and political pressures that lead to the wide acceptance of unsupported theories. The Hobbit Trap describes how the case against the “new species” theory developed and offers an important critique of the species concept in evolution. In this thoroughly updated second edition, the authors include new data and analysis of the Flores fossils, and expand their important analysis of scientific practice, calling for a new movement to reverse the decline in scientific standards and the rise in scientific politics. This lively and important challenge to conventional wisdom is accessible to the general reader and makes a stimulating addition to courses on the history and philosophy of science, evolution and physical anthropology.

When scientists found the remains of a tiny hominid on an Indonesian in 2004, they claimed they found a totally new species of human ancestor (homo floresiensis), and called it a Hobbit. Film crews rolled in and the little creature took the world by storm, but a group of prominent scientists, including Maciej Henneberg and Robert Eckhardt, smelled a rat. They refuted the data—the size and shape of bones, the inferences about height—and they raised fundamental questions about scientific method, revealing cultural and political pressures that lead to the wide acceptance of unsupported theories. The Hobbit Trap describes how the case against the “new species” theory developed and offers an important critique of the species concept in evolution. In this thoroughly updated second edition, the authors include new data and analysis of the Flores fossils, and expand their important analysis of scientific practice, calling for a new movement to reverse the decline in scientific standards and the rise in scientific politics. This lively and important challenge to conventional wisdom is accessible to the general reader and makes a stimulating addition to courses on the history and philosophy of science, evolution and physical anthropology.

The endurance athlete faces a paradox—you’re going farther and faster, you’re feeling stronger, but your bones are getting weaker. New, compelling evidence shows that the very activities that expand our mental and physical abilities may be reducing the durability of our skeletons. In this book, Thomas Whipple, a leading orthopaedic clinical specialist, and Robert Eckhardt, a scientist specializing in the musculoskeletal system, team up to explain how athletes at any level can maintain the delicate balance between endurance exercise and optimum bone health over a lifetime. Translating important scientific advances into accessible language, they explain the muscle-bone connection, and cover training strategies and exercises, nutrition, calcium, stress fractures, rehabilitation, running mechanics, footwear, posture, and pharmaceuticals. An essential guide and ideal text for exercise physiologists, endurance athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and coaches.