The strange case of the rickety Cossack : and other cautionary tales from human evolution / Ian Tattersall.

Author/creator Tattersall, Ian author.
Format Book
EditionFirst edition.
PublicationNew York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Copyright Date©2015
Descriptionxii, 244 pages : black and white illlustrations ; 25 cm
Subjects

Contents Lemurs and the delights of fieldwork -- Humankind's place in nature -- People get a fossil record -- Neanderthals and man-apes -- The synthesis and Handy Man -- Evolutionary refinements -- The gilded age -- Meanwhile, back at the museum ... -- Turkana, the Afar, and Dmanisi -- Molecules and midgets -- Neanderthals, DNA, and creativity -- Why does it matter how we evolved?
Abstract "In his new book human paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall argues that a long tradition of "human exceptionalism" in paleoanthropology has distorted the picture of human evolution. Drawing partly on his own career--from young scientist in awe of his elders to crotchety elder statesman--Tattersall offers an idiosyncratic look at the competitive world of paleoanthropology, beginning with Charles Darwin 150 years ago, and continuing through the Leakey dynasty in Africa, and concluding with the latest astonishing findings in the Caucasus. With tact and humor, Tattersall concludes that we are not the perfected products of natural processes, but instead the result of substantial doses of random happenstance"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 223-235) and index.
LCCN 2014038032
ISBN9781137278890 (hardcover)
ISBN1137278897 (hardcover)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks GN281 .T374 2015 ✔ Available Place Hold