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Human Evolution And The Origins Of Hierarchies
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Book Synopsis Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies by : Benoît Dubreuil
Download or read book Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies written by Benoît Dubreuil and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-06 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Benoît Dubreuil explores the creation and destruction of hierarchies in human evolution. Combining the methods of archaeology, anthropology, cognitive neuroscience and primatology, he offers a natural history of hierarchies from the point of view of both cultural and biological evolution. This volume explains why dominance hierarchies typical of primate societies disappeared in the human lineage and why the emergence of large-scale societies during the Neolithic period implied increased social differentiation, the creation of status hierarchies, and, eventually, political centralisation.
Book Synopsis Hierarchy in the Forest by : Christopher BOEHM
Download or read book Hierarchy in the Forest written by Christopher BOEHM and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are humans by nature hierarchical or egalitarian? Hierarchy in the Forest addresses this question by examining the evolutionary origins of social and political behavior. Christopher Boehm, an anthropologist whose fieldwork has focused on the political arrangements of human and nonhuman primate groups, postulates that egalitarianism is in effect a hierarchy in which the weak combine forces to dominate the strong. The political flexibility of our species is formidable: we can be quite egalitarian, we can be quite despotic. Hierarchy in the Forest traces the roots of these contradictory traits in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and early human societies. Boehm looks at the loose group structures of hunter-gatherers, then at tribal segmentation, and finally at present-day governments to see how these conflicting tendencies are reflected. Hierarchy in the Forest claims new territory for biological anthropology and evolutionary biology by extending the domain of these sciences into a crucial aspect of human political and social behavior. This book will be a key document in the study of the evolutionary basis of genuine altruism. Table of Contents: The Question of Egalitarian Society Hierarchy and Equality Putting Down Aggressors Equality and Its Causes A Wider View of Egalitarianism The Hominoid Political Spectrum Ancestral Politics The Evolution of Egalitarian Society Paleolithic Politics and Natural Selection Ambivalence and Compromise in Human Nature References Index Reviews of this book: This well-written book, geared toward an audience with background in the behavioral and evolutionary sciences but accessible to a broad readership, raises two general questions: 'What is an egalitarian society?' and 'How have these societies evolved?'...[Christopher Boehm] takes the reader on a journey from the Arctic to the Americas, from Australia to Africa, in search of hunter-gatherer and tribal societies that emanate the egalitarian ethos--one that promotes generosity, altruism and sharing but forbids upstartism, aggression and egoism. Throughout this journey, Boehm tantalizes the reader with vivid anthropological accounts of ridicule, criticism, ostracism and even execution--prevalent tactics used by subordinates in egalitarian societies to level the social playing field...Hierarchy in the Forest is an interesting and thought-provoking book that is surely an important contribution to perspectives on human sociality and politics. --Ryan Earley, American Scientist Reviews of this book: Combing an exhaustive ethnographic survey of human societies from groups of hunter-gatherers to contemporary residents of the Balkans with a detailed analysis of the behavioral attributes of non-human primates (chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos), Boehm focuses on whether humans are hierarchical or egalitarian by nature...[Boehm's hypotheses] are invariably intriguing and well documented...He raises topics of wide interest and his book should get attention. --Publishers Weekly Boehm has been the first to look at egalitarianism with a cold, unromantic eye. He sees it as a victory over hierarchical tendencies, which are equally marked in our species. I would predict that his insightful examination will reverberate within anthropology and the social sciences as well as among biologists interested in the evolution of social systems. --Frans de Waal, Emory University Hierarchy in the Forest is an original and stimulating contribution to thinking about the origins of egalitarianism. I personally find Boehm's ideas convincing, but whether one agrees with him or not, he has formulated his hypotheses in such a way that this book is likely to set the terms of the discussion for the forseeable future. --Barbara Smuts, University of Michigan The most unique and interesting feature of this clear, well written book is the way Boehm links the study of nonhuman primates (particularly chimpanzees) to traditional concepts of political anthropology. As a political scientist, I was intrigued by Boehm's suggestion that democracy, both ancient and modern, could be understood as the expression of the same natural dispositions that support the egalitarianism of nomadic bands and sedentary tribes. I expect that many scholars in biology, anthropology, and the social sciences would learn from this stimulating book. Even those who disagree with Boehm's arguments are likely to be provoked in instructive ways. --Larry Arnhart, Northern Illinois University Chris Boehm boldly and cogently attacks a whole orthodoxy in anthropology which sees hunter-gatherer 'egalitarianism' as somehow the basic form of human society. No praise can be too high for Boehm's brilliant and courageous book. --Robin Fox, Rutgers University
Download or read book Hierarchies' Origin written by Covey Lee and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2024-06-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered why hierarchies exist everywhere, from animal packs to corporations? HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN: The Evolutionary Roots of Hierarchies (by Covey Lee) takes you on a captivating exploration that reveals the surprising biological basis for these structures. Imagine a world where: Ant colonies function flawlessly without a central leader. Chimpanzee troops maintain order without a dominant alpha. Intrigued? Delve deeper and discover: The Hidden Forces: Uncover the fascinating evolutionary pressures that shaped the development of hierarchies across all forms of life. Benefits and Drawbacks: Explore the advantages hierarchies provide, like increased efficiency and specialization, along with the potential downsides, such as power imbalances. Beyond Humans: Learn how hierarchies manifest in surprising ways, from the social structures of insects to the organization of the human brain. A New Perspective: Gain a fresh understanding of the natural world and the very fabric of human societies. HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN isn't just about the past; it sheds light on the future. By understanding the origins of hierarchical structures, we can better understand their impact on our own lives and organizations. Are hierarchies an inevitable product of evolution, or is there room for a different way of structuring our world? Read HIERARCHIES' ORIGIN and embark on a thought-provoking journey to discover the roots of order.
Book Synopsis Mind the Gap by : Richard G. Wilkinson
Download or read book Mind the Gap written by Richard G. Wilkinson and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inequality kills. Both rich and poor die younger in countries with the greatest inequalities in income. Countries such as the United States with big gaps between rich and poor have higher death rates than those with smaller gaps such as Sweden and Japan. Why? In this provocative book, Richard Wilkinson provides a novel Darwinian approach to the question. Wilkinson points out that inequality is new to our species: in our two-million-year history, human societies became hierarchical only about ten thousand years ago. Because our minds and bodies are adapted to a more egalitarian life, today's hierarchical structures may be considered unnatural. To people at the bottom of the heap, the world seems hostile and the stress is harmful. If you are not in control, you're at risk. This is a penetrating analysis of patterns of health and disease that has implications for social policy. Wilkinson concludes that rather than relying on more police, prisons, social workers, or doctors, we must tackle the corrosive social effects of income differences in our society.
Download or read book Human Success written by Hugh Desmond and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean for our species--or for any species--to be successful? Human Success: Evolutionary Origins and Ethical Implications examines the concept of human success from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, with contributions from leading paleobiologists, anthropologists, geologists, philosophers of science, and ethicists. It tells the tale of how the human species grew in success-linked metrics, such as population size and geographical range, and how it came to dominate ecological systems across the globe. It explores how culture, technology, and creativity have contributed to human success. However, there is a darker side of human success, as has become apparent in a world affected by climate change and the destruction of biodiversity. This leads us to ask whether the human species can really be called successful, and what our future success will look like in terms of our bodies, minds, morals, and our place in the universe. The essays in this book probe us to reflect on what has led to our apparent evolutionary success--and, most importantly, what this success implies for the future of our species.
Book Synopsis The Form of Man by : Seymour W. Itzkoff
Download or read book The Form of Man written by Seymour W. Itzkoff and published by Paideia Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Religion in Human Evolution by : Robert N. Bellah
Download or read book Religion in Human Evolution written by Robert N. Bellah and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-08 with total page 777 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An ABC Australia Best Book on Religion and Ethics of the Year Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Religion in Human Evolution is a work of extraordinary ambition—a wide-ranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution. “Of Bellah’s brilliance there can be no doubt. The sheer amount this man knows about religion is otherworldly...Bellah stands in the tradition of such stalwarts of the sociological imagination as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Only one word is appropriate to characterize this book’s subject as well as its substance, and that is ‘magisterial.’” —Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review “Religion in Human Evolution is a magnum opus founded on careful research and immersed in the ‘reflective judgment’ of one of our best thinkers and writers.” —Richard L. Wood, Commonweal
Book Synopsis The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 2 by : David M. Buss
Download or read book The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 2 written by David M. Buss and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-10-26 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete exploration of the real-world applications and implications of evolutionary psychology The exciting and sometimes controversial science of evolutionary psychology is becoming increasingly relevant to more fields of study than ever before. The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 2, Integrations provides students and researchers with new insight into how EP draws from, and is applied in, fields as diverse as economics, anthropology, neuroscience, genetics, and political science, among others. In this thorough revision and expansion of the groundbreaking handbook, luminaries in the field provide an in-depth exploration of the foundations of evolutionary psychology as they relate to public policy, consumer behavior, organizational leadership, and legal issues. Evolutionary psychology seeks to explain the reasons behind friendship, leadership, warfare, morality, religion, and culture — in short, what it means to be human. This enlightening text provides a foundational knowledgebase in EP, along with expert insights and the most up-to-date coverage of recent theories and findings. Explore the vast and expanding applications of evolutionary psychology Discover the psychology of human survival, mating parenting, cooperation and conflict, culture, and more Identify how evolutionary psychology is interwoven with other academic subjects and traditional psychological disciplines Discuss future applications of the conceptual tools of evolutionary psychology As the established standard in the field, The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 2 is the definitive guide for every psychologist and student to understand the latest and most exciting applications of evolutionary psychology.
Book Synopsis How We Became Human by : Pierpaolo Antonello
Download or read book How We Became Human written by Pierpaolo Antonello and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From his groundbreaking Violence and the Sacred and Things Hidden since the Foundation of the World, René Girard’s mimetic theory is presented as elucidating “the origins of culture.” He posits that archaic religion (or “the sacred”), particularly in its dynamics of sacrifice and ritual, is a neglected and major key to unlocking the enigma of “how we became human.” French philosopher of science Michel Serres states that Girard’s theory provides a Darwinian theory of culture because it “proposes a dynamic, shows an evolution and gives a universal explanation.” This major claim has, however, remained underscrutinized by scholars working on Girard’s theory, and it is mostly overlooked within the natural and social sciences. Joining disciplinary worlds, this book aims to explore this ambitious claim, invoking viewpoints as diverse as evolutionary culture theory, cultural anthropology, archaeology, cognitive psychology, ethology, and philosophy. The contributors provide major evidence in favor of Girard’s hypothesis. Equally, Girard’s theory is presented as having the potential to become for the human and social sciences something akin to the integrating framework that present-day biological science owes to Darwin—something compatible with it and complementary to it in accounting for the still remarkably little understood phenomenon of human emergence.
Book Synopsis The Origins of Modern Humans by : Fred H. Smith
Download or read book The Origins of Modern Humans written by Fred H. Smith and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This update to the award-winning The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence covers the most accepted common theories concerning the emergence of modern Homo sapiens adding fresh insight from top young scholars on the key new discoveries of the past 25 years. The Origins of Modern Humans: Biology Reconsidered allows field leaders to discuss and assess the assemblage of hominid fossil material in each region of the world during the Pleistocene epoch. It features new fossil and molecular evidence, such as the evolutionary inferences drawn from assessments of modern humans and large segments of the Neandertal genome. It also addresses the impact of digital imagery and the more sophisticated morphometrics that have entered the analytical fray since 1984. Beginning with a thoughtful introduction by the authors on modern human origins, the book offers such insightful chapter contributions as: Africa: The Cradle of Modern People Crossroads of the Old World: Late Hominin Evolution in Western Asia A River Runs through It: Modern Human Origins in East Asia Perspectives on the Origins of Modern Australians Modern Human Origins in Central Europe The Makers of the Early Upper Paleolithic in Western Eurasia Neandertal Craniofacial Growth and Development and Its Relevance for Modern Human Origins Energetics and the Origin of Modern Humans Understanding Human Cranial Variation in Light of Modern Human Origins The Relevance of Archaic Genomes to Modern Human Origins The Process of Modern Human Origins: The Evolutionary and Demographic Changes Giving Rise to Modern Humans The Paleobiology of Modern Human Emergence Elegant and thought provoking, The Origins of Modern Humans: Biology Reconsidered is an ideal read for students, grad students, and professionals in human evolution and paleoanthropology.
Book Synopsis The Stages of Human Evolution by : C. Loring Brace
Download or read book The Stages of Human Evolution written by C. Loring Brace and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 1979 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Human Evolution by : John L. Bradshaw
Download or read book Human Evolution written by John L. Bradshaw and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2014-01-02 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last decade has seen an explosive burst of new information about human origins and our evolutionary status with respect to other species. We have long been considered unique as upright, bipedal creatures endowed with language, the ability to use tools, to think and introspect. We now know that other creatures may be more or less capable of similar behaviour, and that these human capacities in many cases have long evolutionary trajectories. Our information about such matters comes from a diverse variety of disciplines, including experimental and neuropsychology, primatology, ethology, archaeology, palaeontology, comparative linguistics and molecular biology. It is the interdisciplinary nature of the newly-emerging information which bears upon one of the profoundest scientific human questions - our origin and place in the animal kingdom, whether unique or otherwise - which makes the general topic so fascinating to layperson, student, and expert alike. The book attempts to integrate across a wide range of disciplines an evolutionary view of human psychology, with particular reference to language, praxis and aesthetics. A chapter on evolution, from the appearance of life to the earliest mammals, is followed by one which examines the appearance of primates, hominids and the advent of bipedalism. There follows a more detailed account of the various species of Homo, the morphology and origin of modern H. sapiens sapiens as seen from the archaeological/palaeontological and molecular-biological perspectives. The origins of art and an aesthetic sense in the Acheulian and Mousterian through to the Upper Palaeolithic are seen in the context of the psychology of art. Two chapters on language address its nature and realization centrally and peripherally, the prehistory and neuropsychology of speech, and evidence for speech and/or language in our hominid ancestors. A chapter on tool use and praxis examines such behaviour in other species, primate and non-primate, the neurology of praxis and its possible relation to language. Encephalization and the growth of the brain, phylogenetically and ontogenetically, and its relationship to intellectual capacity leads on finally to a consideration of intelligence, social intelligence, consciousness and self awareness. A final chapter reviews the issues covered. The book, of around 70.000 words of text, includes over 500 references over half of which date from 1994 or later.
Book Synopsis From Apes to Cyborgs by : Claudio Tuniz
Download or read book From Apes to Cyborgs written by Claudio Tuniz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-03-01 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers fascinating insights into the lives of our ancestors and investigates the dynamic processes that led to the establishment of complex human societies. It provides a holistic view of human history and social evolution by drawing on the latest evidence from a wide range of disciplines and proposes new hypotheses on the origins of human behaviour. After exploration of the encounters of Homo sapiens with other human species, diverse aspects of life in emerging societies are examined, including clothing, work, leisure, learning, diet, disease, and the role of women. Attention is drawn to the key role of self-domestication – the process of reducing natural aggression and increasing playfulness – in enabling survival. Another focus is Homo oeconomicus. The significance of symbolic thought for the emergence of surpluses in goods and services is highlighted, with analysis of how this led to private accumulation of wealth and development of the first hierarchical societies. Finally, the discussion turns to humans of the future and the potential risks posed by artificial intelligence. The aim is to unveil the deep roots of our social behaviour and how it is going to intertwine with the development of digital technologies and social networks.
Download or read book Human Origins written by and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes how mapping the human genome has aided paleoanthropologists in their study of ancient bones used to explore human origins, from the earliest humans--bipedal apes--up to Martin Pickford's Millennium Man.
Book Synopsis The Origin and Evolution of Humans and Humanness by : D. Tab Rasmussen
Download or read book The Origin and Evolution of Humans and Humanness written by D. Tab Rasmussen and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. This book was released on 1993 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume represents the proceedings of the Irving Stone Memorial Symposium on "The Origin of Humans and Humanness." Scientists in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, biology and ecology were invited to discuss their research concerning the how's, where's and why's of the evolutionary history of humans. Using our knowledge of the behavior and reproduction of living primates, chapter 1 describes what made the earliest human-like animals of 4 million years ago different from their ape relatives. While showing how the science of paleontology works, the origin of our genus, Homo, is discussed in chapter 2. With emphasis on those humans who first made regular use of stone tools some 2 million years ago, chapter 3 interprets ancient human behavior and ecology from an archeological perspective. Tools from genetics, molecular biology, archaeology and paleontology are used to examine the origin of modern Homo sapiens in chapter 4. Chapter 5 looks at the artistry of Ice Age craftsmen. Finally, using computer methods, chapter 6 delves into the complex issue of how does human behavior change, and what is the relationship between biological and cultural evolution?
Book Synopsis The Dawn of Everything by : David Graeber
Download or read book The Dawn of Everything written by David Graeber and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. Includes Black-and-White Illustrations
Book Synopsis Mothers and Others by : Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Download or read book Mothers and Others written by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-15 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Somewhere in Africa, more than a million years ago, a line of apes began to rear their young differently than their Great Ape ancestors. From this new form of care came new ways of engaging and understanding each other. How such singular human capacities evolved, and how they have kept us alive for thousands of generations, is the mystery revealed in this bold and wide-ranging new vision of human emotional evolution. Mothers and Others finds the key in the primatologically unique length of human childhood. If the young were to survive in a world of scarce food, they needed to be cared for, not only by their mothers but also by siblings, aunts, fathers, friends—and, with any luck, grandmothers. Out of this complicated and contingent form of childrearing, Sarah Hrdy argues, came the human capacity for understanding others. Mothers and others teach us who will care, and who will not. From its opening vision of “apes on a plane”; to descriptions of baby care among marmosets, chimpanzees, wolves, and lions; to explanations about why men in hunter-gatherer societies hunt together, Mothers and Others is compellingly readable. But it is also an intricately knit argument that ever since the Pleistocene, it has taken a village to raise children—and how that gave our ancient ancestors the first push on the path toward becoming emotionally modern human beings.
