Is warfare a uniquely human behavior? Do you know how many human races there are? Have you ever wondered how evolution can be both a fact and a theory? How can we know about the distant past if we weren't there to witness it? How did we become who we are as a species, and what does that mean for other species and the rest of the planet? The Human Experiment: Origins and Evolution of Humanity touches on these and other big questions, and provides students with an introduction to what anthropologists know about the origins of the human condition. Topics include the study of anthropology; science, myth, religion and pseudoscience; evolution; common misconceptions about race; why anthropologists study nonhuman primates; and the emergence of biologically modern humans. Students learn about culture as human adaptation, peopling of the New World, the origins and consequences of food production, civilizations, and global warming. Designed to help students better understand the evolution of humankind, The Human Experiment is an ideal textbook for introductory anthropology courses. It provides a concise and accessible overview of the key developments in human prehistory and examples of how the knowledge of our shared past is continually being updated as new information is discovered.

Is warfare a uniquely human behavior? Do you know how many human races there are? Have you ever wondered how evolution can be both a fact and a theory? How can we know about the distant past if we weren't there to witness it? How did we become who we are as a species, and what does that mean for other species and the rest of the planet? The Human Experiment: Origins and Evolution of Humanity touches on these and other big questions, and provides students with an introduction to what anthropologists know about the origins of the human condition. Topics include the study of anthropology; science, myth, religion and pseudoscience; evolution; common misconceptions about race; why anthropologists study nonhuman primates; and the emergence of biologically modern humans. Students learn about culture as human adaptation, peopling of the New World, the origins and consequences of food production, civilizations, and global warming. Designed to help students better understand the evolution of humankind, The Human Experiment is an ideal textbook for introductory anthropology courses. It provides a concise and accessible overview of the key developments in human prehistory and examples of how the knowledge of our shared past is continually being updated as new information is discovered.

Is warfare a uniquely human behavior? Do you know how many human races there are? Have you ever wondered how evolution can be both a fact and a theory? How can we know about the distant past if we weren't there to witness it? How did we become who we are as a species, and what does that mean for other species and the rest of the planet? The Human Experiment: Origins and Evolution of Humanity touches on these and other big questions, and provides students with an introduction to what anthropologists know about the origins of the human condition. Topics include the study of anthropology; science, myth, religion and pseudoscience; evolution; common misconceptions about race; why anthropologists study nonhuman primates; and the emergence of biologically modern humans. Students learn about culture as human adaptation, peopling of the New World, the origins and consequences of food production, civilizations, and global warming. Designed to help students better understand the evolution of humankind, The Human Experiment is an ideal textbook for introductory anthropology courses. It provides a concise and accessible overview of the key developments in human prehistory and examples of how the knowledge of our shared past is continually being updated as new information is discovered.

The association between our ancestors and fire, somewhere around six to four million years ago, had a tremendous impact on human evolution, transforming our earliest human ancestor, a being communicating without speech but with insight, reason, manual dexterity, highly developed social organization, and the capability of experimenting with this new technology. As it first associated with and then began to tame fire, this extraordinary being began to distance itself from its primate relatives, taking a path that would alter its environment, physiology, and self-image. Based on her extensive research with nonhuman primates, anthropologist Frances Burton details the stages of the conquest of fire and the systems it affected. Her study examines the natural occurrence of fire and describes the effects light has on human physiology. She constructs possible variations of our earliest human ancestor and its way of life, utilizing archaeological and anthropological evidence of the earliest human-controlled fires to explore the profound physical and biological impacts fire had on human evolution.

A Buzzfeed Gift Guide Selection “Few books on the biological and cultural origin of humanity can be ranked as classics. I believe [this] will be one of them.” — Edward O. Wilson At the time of its publication, How Language Began received high acclaim for capturing the fascinating history of mankind’s most incredible creation. Deemed a “bombshell” linguist and “instant folk hero” by Tom Wolfe (Harper’s), Daniel L. Everett posits that the near- 7,000 languages that exist today are not only the product of one million years of evolution but also have allowed us to become Earth’s apex predator. Tracing 60,000 generations, Everett debunks long- held theories across a spectrum of disciplines to affi rm the idea that we are not born with an instinct for language. Woven with anecdotes of his nearly forty years of fi eldwork amongst Amazonian hunter- gatherers, this is a “completely enthralling” (Spectator) exploration of our humanity and a landmark study of what makes us human. “[An] ambitious text. . . . Everett’s amiable tone, and especially his captivating anecdotes . . . , will help the neophyte along.”— New York Times Book Review