The Human Evolution Source Book edited by Russell L. Ciochon and John G.
Fleagle, Prentice Hall, pp 675, 拢41.95 pbk
Books of reprinted articles rarely merit special notice but The Human
Evolution Source Book is definitely a cut above the rest. Structurally, it
resembles others in the genre: two well-known American anthropologists have
selected 60 influential papers published during the past 50 years, arranged
them in eight parts and added short introductions to each part. As a bonus,
they have included some helpful diagrams, distribution maps and timescales,
and a glossary of key terms.
The earliest paper was published in 1952 (Clark Howell鈥檚 on the evolution of
Neanderthals), the latest is a review article about australopithecines
specially written by Fred Grine. The topics range from molecular studies,
such as DNA hybridisation, to symbolism and modern human origins.
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Most of the papers date from the 1970s and 1980s. A good many are reprints
of articles from well-known journals such as Nature, Science, Scientific
American, Current Anthropology, Annual Review of Anthropology and Journal of
Human Evolution.
Other articles in Ciochon and Fleagle鈥檚 collection would be more difficult
to track down, especially articles published originally in books. I was
pleased to see Adrienne Zihlman and Nancy Tanner鈥檚 article 鈥楪athering and
the hominid adaptation鈥� reprinted in the part on 鈥楾heoretical perspectives鈥�;
this paper first appeared in a book called Female Hierarchies (1978).
The last part of the collection on 鈥楥oncepts of race and the development of
modern peoples鈥� is, to me, one of the most useful. Not only does it have a
helpful introduction by the editors to this contentious subject, but also
starts with Sherwood Washburn鈥檚 1962 presidential address to the American
Anthropological Association entitled 鈥楾he study of race鈥�, a model of
scientific writing. Ciochon and Fleagle have selected the papers with care.
All are still topical and most read exceptionally well. John Napier鈥檚 papers
on the 鈥楾he evolution of the hand鈥� (1962) and 鈥楾he antiquity of human
walking鈥� (1967) are classics of their kind and as pertinent today as when
they were first published. The origins of our own genus Homo remain as
controversial as ever and it is good to be reminded of the first description
of Homo habilis from Olduvai Gorge by Louis Leakey in 1964.
What The Human Evolution Source Book shows especially well is that, although
new finds and the introduction of molecular techniques help to clarify
human origins, good ideas, however old, never pass their sell-by date if
they are well-presented.
Sarah Bunney is a science editor and writer.
