Rethinking Human Evolution

Rethinking Human Evolution

Author: Jeffrey H. Schwartz

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2022-11-01

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0262546744

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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


Book Synopsis Rethinking Human Evolution by : Jeffrey H. Schwartz

Download or read book Rethinking Human Evolution written by Jeffrey H. Schwartz and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-11-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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


Rethinking Evolution in the Museum

Rethinking Evolution in the Museum

Author: Monique Scott

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-11-19

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1134135904

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Rethinking Evolution in the Museum explores the ways diverse natural history museum audiences imagine their evolutionary heritage. In particular, the book considers how the meanings constructed by audiences of museum exhibitions are a product of dynamic interplay between museum iconography and powerful images museum visitors bring with them to the museum. In doing so, the book illustrates how the preconceived images held by museum audiences about anthropology, Africa, and the museum itself strongly impact the human origins exhibition experience. Although museological theory has come increasingly to recognize that museum audiences ‘make meaning’ in exhibitions, or make their own complex interpretations of museum exhibitions, few scholars have explicitly asked how. Rethinking Evolution in the Museum, however, provides a rare window into visitor perceptions at four world-class museums—the Natural History Museum and Horniman Museum in London, the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Through rigorous and novel mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) covering nearly 500 museum visitors, this innovative study shows that audiences of human origins exhibitions interpret evolution exhibitions through a profoundly complex convergence of personal, political, intellectual, emotional and cultural interpretive strategies. This book also reveals that natural history museum visitors often respond to museum exhibitions similarly because they use common cultural tools picked up from globalized popular media circulating outside of the museum. One tool of particular interest is the notion that human evolution has proceeded linearly from a bestial African prehistory to a civilized European present. Despite critical growths in anthropological science and museum displays, the outdated Victorian progress motif lingers persistently in popular media and the popular imagination. Rethinking Evolution in the Museum sheds light on our relationship with natural history museums and will be crucial to those people interested in understanding the connection between the visitor, the museum and media culture outside of the museum context.


Book Synopsis Rethinking Evolution in the Museum by : Monique Scott

Download or read book Rethinking Evolution in the Museum written by Monique Scott and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-11-19 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rethinking Evolution in the Museum explores the ways diverse natural history museum audiences imagine their evolutionary heritage. In particular, the book considers how the meanings constructed by audiences of museum exhibitions are a product of dynamic interplay between museum iconography and powerful images museum visitors bring with them to the museum. In doing so, the book illustrates how the preconceived images held by museum audiences about anthropology, Africa, and the museum itself strongly impact the human origins exhibition experience. Although museological theory has come increasingly to recognize that museum audiences ‘make meaning’ in exhibitions, or make their own complex interpretations of museum exhibitions, few scholars have explicitly asked how. Rethinking Evolution in the Museum, however, provides a rare window into visitor perceptions at four world-class museums—the Natural History Museum and Horniman Museum in London, the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Through rigorous and novel mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) covering nearly 500 museum visitors, this innovative study shows that audiences of human origins exhibitions interpret evolution exhibitions through a profoundly complex convergence of personal, political, intellectual, emotional and cultural interpretive strategies. This book also reveals that natural history museum visitors often respond to museum exhibitions similarly because they use common cultural tools picked up from globalized popular media circulating outside of the museum. One tool of particular interest is the notion that human evolution has proceeded linearly from a bestial African prehistory to a civilized European present. Despite critical growths in anthropological science and museum displays, the outdated Victorian progress motif lingers persistently in popular media and the popular imagination. Rethinking Evolution in the Museum sheds light on our relationship with natural history museums and will be crucial to those people interested in understanding the connection between the visitor, the museum and media culture outside of the museum context.


The Evolution of Knowledge

The Evolution of Knowledge

Author: Jürgen Renn

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-01-14

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 069117198X

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Jürgen Renn examines the role of knowledge in global transformations going back to the dawn of civilization while providing vital perspectives on the complex challenges confronting us today in the Anthropocene--this new geological epoch shaped by humankind. Renn reframes the history of science and technology within a much broader history of knowledge, analyzing key episodes such as the evolution of writing, the emergence of science in the ancient world, the Scientific Revolution of early modernity, the globalization of knowledge, industrialization, and the profound transformations wrought by modern science. He investigates the evolution of knowledge using an array of disciplines and methods, from cognitive science and experimental psychology to earth science and evolutionary biology. The result is an entirely new framework for understanding structural changes in systems of knowledge--and a bold new approach to the history and philosophy of science.


Book Synopsis The Evolution of Knowledge by : Jürgen Renn

Download or read book The Evolution of Knowledge written by Jürgen Renn and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-14 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jürgen Renn examines the role of knowledge in global transformations going back to the dawn of civilization while providing vital perspectives on the complex challenges confronting us today in the Anthropocene--this new geological epoch shaped by humankind. Renn reframes the history of science and technology within a much broader history of knowledge, analyzing key episodes such as the evolution of writing, the emergence of science in the ancient world, the Scientific Revolution of early modernity, the globalization of knowledge, industrialization, and the profound transformations wrought by modern science. He investigates the evolution of knowledge using an array of disciplines and methods, from cognitive science and experimental psychology to earth science and evolutionary biology. The result is an entirely new framework for understanding structural changes in systems of knowledge--and a bold new approach to the history and philosophy of science.


Rethinking Evolution: The Revolution That's Hiding In Plain Sight

Rethinking Evolution: The Revolution That's Hiding In Plain Sight

Author: Gene Levinson

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2019-10-17

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 1786347288

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Rethinking Evolution links Darwin's early insights to the molecular realm inside living cells. This updated evolutionary synthesis provides an accessible explanation for biological complexity that cuts through the confusion surrounding evolutionary theory in a practical way.In addition to a wide-ranging survey of proposed updates to the modern synthesis, this title provides extraordinary new insights including emergent evolutionary potential and the generative phenotype. Drawing on well-characterized empirical facts, Rethinking Evolution transcends classical Darwinian natural selection while retaining those core principles that have stood the test of time.The updated synthesis brings a broad spectrum of specialized research together to provide a more plausible naturalistic explanation for biological evolution than ever before. Perspectives ranging from the role of energy in the origin of life to the networks of protein-DNA interactions that govern multicellular development are woven together in a robust conceptual fabric consistent with 21st century cutting-edge research.Inspired in part by the surprising ways that DNA sequences change — such as his early discovery of a fundamental mispairing mechanism by which DNA sequences expand — and drawing on a career's worth of experience both as a research scientist as well as a biology and chemistry tutor — the author provides an engaging account that is essential reading — both for the public awareness and understanding of the science of evolution and for students and professionals in the biomedical sciences.Related Link(s)


Book Synopsis Rethinking Evolution: The Revolution That's Hiding In Plain Sight by : Gene Levinson

Download or read book Rethinking Evolution: The Revolution That's Hiding In Plain Sight written by Gene Levinson and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2019-10-17 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rethinking Evolution links Darwin's early insights to the molecular realm inside living cells. This updated evolutionary synthesis provides an accessible explanation for biological complexity that cuts through the confusion surrounding evolutionary theory in a practical way.In addition to a wide-ranging survey of proposed updates to the modern synthesis, this title provides extraordinary new insights including emergent evolutionary potential and the generative phenotype. Drawing on well-characterized empirical facts, Rethinking Evolution transcends classical Darwinian natural selection while retaining those core principles that have stood the test of time.The updated synthesis brings a broad spectrum of specialized research together to provide a more plausible naturalistic explanation for biological evolution than ever before. Perspectives ranging from the role of energy in the origin of life to the networks of protein-DNA interactions that govern multicellular development are woven together in a robust conceptual fabric consistent with 21st century cutting-edge research.Inspired in part by the surprising ways that DNA sequences change — such as his early discovery of a fundamental mispairing mechanism by which DNA sequences expand — and drawing on a career's worth of experience both as a research scientist as well as a biology and chemistry tutor — the author provides an engaging account that is essential reading — both for the public awareness and understanding of the science of evolution and for students and professionals in the biomedical sciences.Related Link(s)


Biology at Work

Biology at Work

Author: Kingsley R. Browne

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2002-06-06

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0813542472

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Does biology help explain why women, on average, earn less money than men? Is there any evolutionary basis for the scarcity of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies? According to Kingsley Browne, the answer may be yes. Biology at Work brings an evolutionary perspective to bear on issues of women in the workplace: the "glass ceiling," the "gender gap" in pay, sexual harassment, and occupational segregation. While acknowledging the role of discrimination and sexist socialization, Browne suggests that until we factor real biological differences between men and women into the equation, the explanation remains incomplete. Browne looks at behavioral differences between men and women as products of different evolutionary pressures facing them throughout human history. Womens biological investment in their offspring has led them to be on average more nurturing and risk averse, and to value relationships over competition. Men have been biologically rewarded, over human history, for displays of strength and skill, risk taking, and status acquisition. These behavioral differences have numerous workplace consequences. Not surprisingly, sex differences in the drive for status lead to sex differences in the achievement of status. Browne argues that decision makers should recognize that policies based on the assumption of a single androgynous human nature are unlikely to be successful. Simply removing barriers to inequality will not achieve equality, as women and men typically value different things in the workplace and will make different workplace choices based on their different preferences. Rather than simply putting forward the "nature" side of the debate, Browne suggests that dichotomies such as nature/nurture have impeded our understanding of the origins of human behavior. Through evolutionary biology we can understand not only how natural selection has created predispositions toward certain types of behavior but also how the social environment interacts with these predispositions to produce observed behavioral patterns.


Book Synopsis Biology at Work by : Kingsley R. Browne

Download or read book Biology at Work written by Kingsley R. Browne and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2002-06-06 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does biology help explain why women, on average, earn less money than men? Is there any evolutionary basis for the scarcity of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies? According to Kingsley Browne, the answer may be yes. Biology at Work brings an evolutionary perspective to bear on issues of women in the workplace: the "glass ceiling," the "gender gap" in pay, sexual harassment, and occupational segregation. While acknowledging the role of discrimination and sexist socialization, Browne suggests that until we factor real biological differences between men and women into the equation, the explanation remains incomplete. Browne looks at behavioral differences between men and women as products of different evolutionary pressures facing them throughout human history. Womens biological investment in their offspring has led them to be on average more nurturing and risk averse, and to value relationships over competition. Men have been biologically rewarded, over human history, for displays of strength and skill, risk taking, and status acquisition. These behavioral differences have numerous workplace consequences. Not surprisingly, sex differences in the drive for status lead to sex differences in the achievement of status. Browne argues that decision makers should recognize that policies based on the assumption of a single androgynous human nature are unlikely to be successful. Simply removing barriers to inequality will not achieve equality, as women and men typically value different things in the workplace and will make different workplace choices based on their different preferences. Rather than simply putting forward the "nature" side of the debate, Browne suggests that dichotomies such as nature/nurture have impeded our understanding of the origins of human behavior. Through evolutionary biology we can understand not only how natural selection has created predispositions toward certain types of behavior but also how the social environment interacts with these predispositions to produce observed behavioral patterns.


Rethinking Human Nature

Rethinking Human Nature

Author: Malcolm Jeeves

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2011-02-23

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0802865577

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How do the many exciting recent scientific discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, genetics and paleoanthropology challenge and complicate but also enrich and illuminate the traditional Christian portrait of human nature? In Rethinking Human Nature an international team of scientists, historians, philosophers, and theologians presents both the wisdom of the past and the cutting edge of present and developing scientific research to explore answers to this vital question. Their discussions examining our brains, our genes, our ancestors, our societies, and more will help us develop a more nuanced and complete understanding of what it really means to be human. Contributors: Evandro Agazzi, R. J. Berry, Alison S. Brooks, Franco Chiereghin, Felipe Fernandez, Graeme Finlay, Joel Green, Malcolm Jeeves, Jrgen Mittelstrass, David G. Myers, Janet Martin Soskice, Fernando Vidal


Book Synopsis Rethinking Human Nature by : Malcolm Jeeves

Download or read book Rethinking Human Nature written by Malcolm Jeeves and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02-23 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do the many exciting recent scientific discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, genetics and paleoanthropology challenge and complicate but also enrich and illuminate the traditional Christian portrait of human nature? In Rethinking Human Nature an international team of scientists, historians, philosophers, and theologians presents both the wisdom of the past and the cutting edge of present and developing scientific research to explore answers to this vital question. Their discussions examining our brains, our genes, our ancestors, our societies, and more will help us develop a more nuanced and complete understanding of what it really means to be human. Contributors: Evandro Agazzi, R. J. Berry, Alison S. Brooks, Franco Chiereghin, Felipe Fernandez, Graeme Finlay, Joel Green, Malcolm Jeeves, Jrgen Mittelstrass, David G. Myers, Janet Martin Soskice, Fernando Vidal


Rethinking the Human Revolution

Rethinking the Human Revolution

Author: Paul Mellars

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13:

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Arising from a conference Rethinking the Human Revolution reconsiders all of the central issues in modern human behavioural, cognitive, biological and demographic origins in the light of new information and new theoretical perspectives which have emerged over the past twenty years of intensive research in this field. The 34 papers cover topics ranging from the DNA and skeletal evidence for modern human origins in Africa, through the archaeological evidence for the emergence of distinctively 'modern' patterns of human behaviour and cognition, to the various lines of evidence for the geographical dispersal patterns of biologically and behaviourally modern populations from their African origins throughout Asia, Australasia and Europe, over the past 60,000 years.


Book Synopsis Rethinking the Human Revolution by : Paul Mellars

Download or read book Rethinking the Human Revolution written by Paul Mellars and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arising from a conference Rethinking the Human Revolution reconsiders all of the central issues in modern human behavioural, cognitive, biological and demographic origins in the light of new information and new theoretical perspectives which have emerged over the past twenty years of intensive research in this field. The 34 papers cover topics ranging from the DNA and skeletal evidence for modern human origins in Africa, through the archaeological evidence for the emergence of distinctively 'modern' patterns of human behaviour and cognition, to the various lines of evidence for the geographical dispersal patterns of biologically and behaviourally modern populations from their African origins throughout Asia, Australasia and Europe, over the past 60,000 years.


Evolutionary Medicine

Evolutionary Medicine

Author: Marc Lappé

Publisher: Random House (NY)

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

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In the wake of the rapid advance of a number of diseases including epidemic drug-resistant bacteria and viruses, tuberculosis, malaria, cancer, and AIDS, Lappe puts forth that the real cause of our current plight is rooted in an historical blindness to the natural forces that have shaped disease organisms and a continued ignorance of the interplay between our massive destruction of the natural order and our own well being. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Synopsis Evolutionary Medicine by : Marc Lappé

Download or read book Evolutionary Medicine written by Marc Lappé and published by Random House (NY). This book was released on 1994 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the rapid advance of a number of diseases including epidemic drug-resistant bacteria and viruses, tuberculosis, malaria, cancer, and AIDS, Lappe puts forth that the real cause of our current plight is rooted in an historical blindness to the natural forces that have shaped disease organisms and a continued ignorance of the interplay between our massive destruction of the natural order and our own well being. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


The Dominant Animal

The Dominant Animal

Author: Paul R. Ehrlich

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2008-06-30

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 1597264601

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In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease? Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today. But the Ehrlichs also explore the flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy. The threats of environmental damage are clear from the daily headlines, but the outcome is far from destined. Humanity can again adapt—if we learn from our evolutionary past. Those lessons are crystallized in The Dominant Animal. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future.


Book Synopsis The Dominant Animal by : Paul R. Ehrlich

Download or read book The Dominant Animal written by Paul R. Ehrlich and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease? Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today. But the Ehrlichs also explore the flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy. The threats of environmental damage are clear from the daily headlines, but the outcome is far from destined. Humanity can again adapt—if we learn from our evolutionary past. Those lessons are crystallized in The Dominant Animal. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future.


Social DNA

Social DNA

Author: M. Kay Martin

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2018-10-19

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1789200083

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What set our ancestors off on a separate evolutionary trajectory was the ability to flex their reproductive and social strategies in response to changing environmental conditions. Exploring new cross-disciplinary research that links this capacity to critical changes in the organization of the primate brain, Social DNA presents a new synthesis of ideas on human social origins – challenging models that trace our beginnings to traits shaped by ancient hunting economies, or to genetic platforms shared with contemporary apes.


Book Synopsis Social DNA by : M. Kay Martin

Download or read book Social DNA written by M. Kay Martin and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2018-10-19 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What set our ancestors off on a separate evolutionary trajectory was the ability to flex their reproductive and social strategies in response to changing environmental conditions. Exploring new cross-disciplinary research that links this capacity to critical changes in the organization of the primate brain, Social DNA presents a new synthesis of ideas on human social origins – challenging models that trace our beginnings to traits shaped by ancient hunting economies, or to genetic platforms shared with contemporary apes.