DEBATING HUMANKIND'S PLACE IN NATURE, 1860-2000 - THE NATURE OF PALEOANTHROPOLOGY

Showing that paleoanthropology is a progressive and dynamic field, this book argues that all debates and hypotheses spring from a single general theory: the theory of biological evolution. It presents the debates and research from 150 scholars in the field, and separates the resolution of these debates through three different time periods: 1860-1890, 1890-1935, and post-1935. Topics include: the history of the field; comparative anatomy; the human fossil record; primate phylogeny; human phylogeny; and the nature of paleoanthropology. A book that will appeal to anyone interested in anthropology, it will also interest historians and others in the social sciences.