The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo
FE Grine, JG Fleagle, RE Leakey (eds.). 2009. The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo. Springer Press; The Netherlands. 220 pp. ISBN 978-1-4020-9979-3 (HB), 978-1-4020-9980-9 (e-book).
Contributors:
RJ Blumenschine, R Bobe, DM Bramble, MC Dean, JG Fleagle, FE Grine, CP Heesy, WL Jungers, WH Kimbel, SG Larson, MG Leakey, RE Leakey, JA Lee-Thorp, DE Lieberman, D Lordkipanidze, MA Maslin, DA Raichlen, KE Reed, GP Rightmire, H Roche, SM Russak, RS Scott, JJ Shea, BH Smith, EJ Smith, HF Smith, M Sponheimer, PV Tobias, MH Trauth, PS Ungar, BA Wood.
Description:
Since the announcement of the first fossil remains of Homo habilis in 1964, the origin of the genus Homo has been an area of study where questions are many, but answers remain poorly understood. This edited volume is an attempt to synthesise current knowledge of the evolutionarily complex story of the earliest members of our genus. The volume, part of the Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series (eds E Delson & RDE MacPhee), documents the proceedings of the third Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop in 2006. The book is divided into five parts focusing on different areas of ongoing early Homo research and interest, and finishes off with a summary chapter. Part one consists of three chapters which relate to the history and theory that have influenced the interpretation of the diversity seen in early Homo. The second part addresses the issues pertaining to the craniodental evidence for early Homo, focussing on taxonomy as well as the origin of Homo in Africa. This section highlights the problem of trying to determine taxonomic relationships given a fragmentary fossil record. Part three deals with questions of postcranial morphology and adaptation as well as variability and scaling of body limb proportions. The three chapters that comprise the fourth part of the volume focus on growth and development in Homo erectus, aspects of biology that relate to diet and behaviour, as well as lithic and zooarchaeological evidence that give insight into early Homo behaviour. The fifth part of the volume presents human origins in an environmental and ecological context, using fossil mammals to reconstruct habitats and concentrating on site specific questions relating to the first appearance of our genus and its range. The authors acknowledge that they may have raised more issues than provided answers; nevertheless this volume provides an up-to-date, concise synthesis of what is known about early Homo and highlights what still remains to be done.
