Rethinking Human Evolution

Contributors from a range of disciplines consider the disconnect between human evolutionary studies and the rest of evolutionary biology.

The study of human evolution often seems to rely on scenarios and received wisdom rather than theory and methodology, with each new fossil or molecular analysis interpreted as supporting evidence for the presumed lineage of human ancestry. We might wonder why we should pursue new inquiries if we already know the story. Is paleoanthropology an evolutionary science? Are analyses of human evolution biological? In this volume, contributors from disciplines that range from paleoanthropology to philosophy of science consider the disconnect between human evolutionary studies and the rest of evolutionary biology. All of the contributors reflect on their own research and its disciplinary context, considering how their fields of inquiry can move forward in new ways. The goal is to encourage a more multifaceted intellectual environment for the understanding of human evolution.

Topics discussed include paleoanthropology’s history of procedural idiosyncrasies; the role of mind and society in our evolutionary past; humans as large mammals rather than a special case; genomic analyses; computational approaches to phylogenetic reconstruction; descriptive morphology versus morphometrics; and integrating insights from archaeology into the interpretation of human fossils.

Contributors
Markus Bastir, Fred L. Bookstein, Claudine Cohen, Richard G. Delisle, Robin Dennell, Rob DeSalle, John de Vos, Emma M. Finestone, Huw S. Groucutt, Gabriele A. Macho, Fabrizzio Mc Manus, Apurva Narechania, Michael D. Petraglia, Thomas W. Plummer, J.W. F. Reumer, Jeff Rosenfeld, Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Dietrich Stout, Ian Tattersall, Alan R. Templeton, Michael Tessler, Peter J. Waddell, Martine Zilversmit

Table of Contents

Chapter 1.The Deceptive Search For “Missing Links” In Human Evolution, 1860–2010: Do Paleoanthropologists Always Work In The Best Interests Of Their Discipline?
Chapter 2. Biological Explanations And Their Limits: Paleoanthropology Among The Sciences
Chapter 3. Human And Mammalian Evolution: Is There A Difference?
Chapter 4. What’S Real About Human Evolution? Received Wisdom, Assumptions, And Scenarios
Chapter 5. To Tree Or Not To Tree Homo Sapiens
Chapter 6. Hypothesis Compatibility Versus Hypothesis Testing Of Models Of Human Evolution
Chapter 7. Out Of Africa: The Evolution And History Of Human Populations In The Southern Dispersal Zone
Chapter 8. The Phylogenomic Origins And Definition Of Homo Sapiens
Chapter 9. “Like Fixing An Airplane In Flight”: On Paleoanthropology As An Evolutionary Discipline, Or Paleoanthropology For What?
Chapter 10. Back To Basics: Morphological Analysis In Paleoanthropology
Chapter 11. Where Evolutionary Biology Meets History: Ethno-Nationalism And Modern Human Origins In East Asia
Chapter 12. Referential Models For The Study Of Hominin Evolution: How Many Do We Need?
Chapter 13. Archeological Sites From 2.6–2.0 Ma: Toward A Deeper Understanding Of The Early Oldowan
Chapter 14. Human Brain Evolution: History Or Science?
Chapter 15. Brain Size And The Emergence Of Modern Human Cognition
Chapter 16. Sex, Reproduction, And Scenarios Of Human Evolution