Evolutionary Anthropology: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology

Politics & Social Sciences

Marks, Jonathan

Staski, Edward

Anthropology

Harcourt School

In The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Second Edition, author Jonathan Marks presents an innovative framework for thinking about the major issues in the field with fourteen original essays designed to correlate to the core chapters in standard textbooks. Each chapter draws on and complements--but does not reconstitute (except for the sake of clarity)--the major data and ideas presented in standard texts. Marks explores such topics as how we make sense of data about our origins, where our modern ideas come from, our inability to separate natural facts from cultural facts and values as we try to understand ourselves, and the social and political aspects of science as a culturally situated mental activity.

The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology

Oxford University Press

In The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology, author Jon Marks presents an innovative framework for thinking about the major issues in the field with fourteen original essays designed to correlate to the core chapters in standard textbooks. Each chapter draws on and complements--but does not reconstitute (except for the sake of clarity)--the major data and ideas presented in standard texts. Marks explores such topics as how we make sense of data about our origins, where our modern ideas comes from, our inability to separate natural facts from cultural facts and values as we try to understand ourselves, and the social and political aspects of science as a culturally situated mental activity. Features * Offers clear, intelligent, and completely original discussions-injected with a sense of humor-that will keep students reading * Addresses core topics in a way that does not simply mirror what is in the basic textbooks but offers a new spin, thereby fostering critical thinking * Complements traditional textbooks in biological anthropology and explores connections between biological and general anthropology * Provides expert integration of topics, coherent narratives, and salient examples * Utilizes theme statements at the start of each chapter that introduce the breadth of information covered and engage students in the material

Are humans unique? This simple question, at the very heart of the hybrid field of biological anthropology, poses one of the false of dichotomies—with a stereotypical humanist answering in the affirmative and a stereotypical scientist answering in the negative. The study of human biology is different from the study of the biology of other species. In the simplest terms, people's lives and welfare may depend upon it, in a sense that they may not depend on the study of other scientific subjects. Where science is used to validate ideas—four out of five scientists preferring a brand of cigarettes or toothpaste—there is a tendency to accept the judgment as authoritative without asking the kinds of questions we might ask of other citizens' pronouncements. In Human Biodiversity, Marks has attempted to distill from a centuries-long debate what has been learned and remains to be learned about the biological differences within and among human groups. His is the first such attempt by an anthropologist in years, for genetics has undermined the fundamental assumptions of racial taxonomy. The history of those assumptions from Linnaeus to the recent past—the history of other, more useful assumptions that derive from Buffon and have reemerged to account for genetic variation—are the poles of Marks's exploration.

Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History (Evolutionary Foundations of Human Behavior)

History

World

de Gruyter

Human Biodiversity (Evolutionary Foundations of Human Behavior)

Social Sciences

Aldine de Gruyter

Abnormal Hemoglobins in Human Populations

Research on abnormal human hemoglobins (protein in blood that carries oxygen), has taught us about the inheritance, biochemistry, and distribution of these traits. Th is knowledge, coupled with mathematical research using computer models of population genetics, has enabled researchers to marry biological fact and genetic theory. This volume places medical understanding in an evolutionary framework. Using published data on the frequencies of abnormal hemoglobins in the world's populations, Livingston analyzes and interprets these frequencies in the light of world distribution of diff erent forms of diseases such as malaria. He further develops the genetic theory of the evolutionary homeostasis. Livingston discusses the relation of abnormal hemoglobins to endemic malaria and, shows how natural selection pressures explain the known distribution of these traits. Where non-coinciding distributions arise, the book presents other genetic, anthropological, evolutionary, and epidemiological evidence to explain these discrepancies. This classic work remains a useful sourcebook for professors and graduate students of anthropology, genetics, epidemiology, and hematology.

Livingstone, Frank. B.

Routledge

An `iconoclastic, witty and extremely readable' study of how science can uncover the mysteries of the relationship between humans and animals, and how much we take for granted in terms of what genetics can tell us about the evolutionary development of the human species. Using the human-ape debate, Jonathan Marks explores various issues including racism, animal rights, and cloning, through an approach that lies somewhere between genetics and holistic anthropology - molecular anthropology. `Marks demolishes the pretensions of scientists who try to use genetics to answer questions about the kinship of nations, the rights of animals, the racial identity of Kennewick Man, the hereditary Jewish priesthood, and the existence of God. Marks has a lot of fun with all this - and so will his readers' - Matt Cartmill, author of A View to a Death in the Morning.

What it Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and their Genes

University of California Press

Marks presents the field of molecular anthropology―a synthesis of the holistic approach of anthropology with the reductive approach of molecular genetics―as a way of improving our understanding of the science of human evolution. This iconoclastic, witty, and extremely readable book illuminates the deep background of our place in nature and asks us to think critically about what science is, and what passes for it, in modern society.

This lively and provocative book casts an anthropological eye on the field of science in a wide-ranging and innovative discussion that integrates philosophy, history, sociology, and auto-ethnography. Jonathan Marks examines biological anthropology, the history of the life sciences, and the literature of science studies while upending common understandings of science and culture with a mixture of anthropology, common sense, and disarming humor. Science, Marks argues, is widely accepted to be three things: a method of understanding and a means of establishing facts about the universe, the facts themselves, and a voice of authority or a locus of cultural power. This triple identity creates conflicting roles and tensions within the field of science and leads to its record of instructive successes and failures. Among the topics Marks addresses are the scientific revolution, science as thought and performance, creationism, scientific fraud, and modern scientific racism. Applying his considerable insight, energy, and wit, Marks sheds new light on the evolution of science, its role in modern culture, and its challenges for the twenty-first century.

Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge

This lively and provocative book casts an anthropological eye on the field of science in a wide-ranging and innovative discussion that integrates philosophy, history, sociology, and auto-ethnography. Jonathan Marks examines biological anthropology, the history of the life sciences, and the literature of science studies while upending common understandings of science and culture with a mixture of anthropology, common sense, and disarming humor. Science, Marks argues, is widely accepted to be three things: a method of understanding and a means of establishing facts about the universe, the facts themselves, and a voice of authority or a locus of cultural power. This triple identity creates conflicting roles and tensions within the field of science and leads to its record of instructive successes and failures. Among the topics Marks addresses are the scientific revolution, science as thought and performance, creationism, scientific fraud, and modern scientific racism. Applying his considerable insight, energy, and wit, Marks sheds new light on the evolution of science, its role in modern culture, and its challenges for the twenty-first century.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Marks, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Marks, Jonathan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Marks, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Evolutionary Anthropology: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology

The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology

The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology

Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History (Evolutionary Foundations of Human Behavior)

Human Biodiversity (Evolutionary Foundations of Human Behavior)

Abnormal Hemoglobins in Human Populations

What it Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and their Genes

What it Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and their Genes

Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge

Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge