Human paleontology and prehistory : contributions in honor of Yoel Rak

• Other Authors: Marom, Assaf (Editor), Hovers, Erella (Editor), Rak, Yoel (honouree.)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham, Switzerland : Springer, [2017]
• Series: Vertebrate paleobiology and paleoanthropology.
• Subjects: Paleoanthropology.; elektronické knihy; electronic books
• ISBN: 9783319466460; 9783319466446
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

The aim of the book is to present original and though-provoking essays in human paleontology and prehistory, which are at the forefront of human evolutionary research, in honor of Professor Yoel Rak (a leading scholar in paleoanthropology). The volume presents a collection of original papers contrib...

Table of Contents:

• Foreword; On a Personal Note; Preface; "A boring story"; A Matter of Character; What's in the Book?; References; Major Publications of Yoel Rak; Books; Selected Articles and Reviews; Contents; Contributors; 1 Why Was Human Evolution So Rapid?; Abstract; Acknowledgments; References; 2 Wallace's Controversy with Darwin on Man's Mental Evolution, on the Position of the Natives in Human Evolution, and His Anticipation of Cultural Evolution, as Distinct from Biological Evolution; Abstract; Introduction; Darwin on Human Races; Alfred Russel Wallace; Wallace's "Apostasy."
• Gould's Criticism of WallaceCultural Evolution Versus Biological Evolution; Addendum; Wallace versus Darwin: On the Relation of Consciousness to the Brain; Darwin on Consciousness; References; 3 Man's Place in Past and Future Evolution: A Historical Survey of Remarkable Ideas; Abstract; The Origin; Man and the Apes; Brain and Intellect; Heredity and Human Evolution; Eugenics
• Controlling Human Evolution; Science and Human Evolution; Mankind in Nature: A Special Case?; Man and the Rest of the World: Ecology and Evolution; Man and Future Biological Evolution.
• Will Mankind Rise to the Challenge?Acknowledgments; References; 4 The Paleoecology of the Upper Ndolanya Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania, and Its Implications for Hominin Evolution; Abstract; Introduction; Paleoecology of the Upper Ndolanya Beds; Discussion and Conclusions; Acknowledgements; References; 5 The Australopithecine Brain: Controversies Perpetual; Abstract; Ongoing Controversies; Some Recent Issues; Conclusion; Acknowledgments; References; 6 Posture, Locomotion and Bipedality: The Case of the Gerenuk (Litocranius walleri); Abstract; Introduction; Anatomy of the Bovid Hip.
• Materials and MethodsVertebral Morphology and Metrics; Conclusions; Acknowledgements; References; 7 Canine Height and Jaw Gape in Catarrhines with Reference to Canine Reduction in Early Hominins; Abstract; Introduction; Functional Links Between Canine Height and Jaw Gape in Catarrhines; Hypothesis and Predictions: Intraspecific Differences Between Adult Males and Females; Hypothesis and Predictions: Interspecific Differences; Materials and Methods; Living Subjects; Derived Variables; Statistical Analysis; Results; Predicting Gape: More on Interspecific Analyses of Catarrhines; Discussion.
• Intraspecific PredictionsInterspecific Predictions; Costs and Benefits of Modifying Bite Force, Gape and Canine Overlap in Catarrhines; Masticatory Efficiency and Canine Reduction in the Earliest Hominins; Relative Muscle Size, Position and Fiber Length in a Model Dimorphic Catarrhine Species: Macaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaques); Why Is It that Relative Gape in Male Catarrhines does not Correspond to Expected Relative Gape in Conspecific Female Catarrhines?; Reconsidering the High Mandibular Condyle of Catarrhines (and Robust australopiths); Conclusions; Acknowledgments; References.