Product Description

Described as "by far the best book of its kind" (Henry McHenry, Evolution) and "the best introduction to the problems and data of modern palaeoanthropology yet published" (R. A. Foley, Antiquity), The Human Career has proved to be an indispensable tool in teaching human origins since its publication in 1989. This substantially revised edition retains Richard Klein's innovative approach and incorporates new findings from the past decade.

The Human Career chronicles the evolution of people from the earliest primates through the emergence of fully modern humans within the past 200,000 years. Its comprehensive treatment stresses recent advances in knowledge, including, for example, ever more abundant evidence that fully modern humans originated in Africa and spread from there, replacing the Neanderthals in Europe and equally archaic people in Asia. With its coverage of both the fossil record and the archeological record over the 2.5 million years for which both are available, Klein emphasizes that human morphology and behavior evolved together. Throughout the text, Klein presents evidence for alternative points of view, but also does not hesitate to take a position.

In addition to outlining the broad pattern of human evolution, The Human Career details the kinds of data that support this pattern, including information on archeological sites, artifacts, fossils, and methods for establishing dates in geological time. With abundant references and hundreds of illustrations, charts, and diagrams, this new edition is unparalleled in its usefulness for teaching human evolution.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #593631 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 840 pages

Review
"If you only have one book that deals with human evolution, this is definitely the one to choose." - Jean-Jacques Hublin, Nature "By far the best book of its kind." - Henry McHenry, Evolution"

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Customer Reviews

Excellent and thorough
By far the most complete and up-to-date treatment of hominid evolution I have encountered. Covers every aspect of paleoanthropology, including climatic changes and dating techniques, in great detail and precision, but with language that even a non-scientist such as myself can understand. An outstanding reference book.

A great overview
One of the definitive texts on the evolution of the hominidae. This text presents some very complex material in a very straightforward way with plenty of diagrams, charts, and maps. Many of the controversies found in the field of paleoanthropology are glossed over or skipped altogether, but this volume is still one of the best for an introduction to human evolution both biologically and culturally. A must for anthropology students especially with all the new discoveries in the past few years.

Before History Began
For the six million years before early humans evolved in a different direction from their chimpanzee cousins, there were no writings to consult about our (assuming the readers are human) evolution. This fine book fills this tremendous gap about our ancestors by examining the evidence from skeletal remains that reveal the development of human brain size, eating habits, and getting about on two legs. Klein evaluates this evidence fairly from the viewpoint of different scholars who attempt to relate this evidence to the development of human culture. The massive list of references at the back of the book cites over 2,400 books and journal articles, accompanied by a index of the pages where each reference is used in the text. If you want to know about human ancestors, and you are not too overwhelmed by details clearly and fairly presented, you'll love to wander through this book.