Skip to main content

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over

The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins

The Chimpanzee as a Skewed Ancestral Model

The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins cover

The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins

The Chimpanzee as a Skewed Ancestral Model

Description

The Wrong Ape for Early Human Origins examines ways in which the chimpanzee referential model has exerted a primary influence on evolutionary theory, dominating portraits of proto- and early human social life, and in the broader sense, of human nature itself. Evidence on which this model is based is revisited, along with new cross-disciplinary findings that point to alternative scenarios for hominin phylogeny, ecology and subsistence, primeval kinship, cognition and language, and the respective roles played by aggression and cooperation as evolutionary drivers. Recent advances in phylogenetics, evolutionary biology, and new additions to the fossil record are rendering linear, monotypic models obsolete. Contemporary theories on species divergence and change over time are shifting attention from ancient genotypes to factors that influence gene expression, and from innate prescriptive behaviors to epigenesis and the capacity for behavioral plasticity. This broader platform has the potential to fundamentally revise current notions about the basic nature, phenotypic traits, and lifeways of ancestral humans. It informs a different profile of our progenitors—one that reflects greater ecological bandwidth, reliance on creative niche construction, and hominin agency in the structuring of ancient reproductive and social groups.

Accessibility Information

Additional accessibility information

  • EPUB 3.0
  • Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
  • WCAG level AA
  • WCAG v2.2 compliant
  • accessibility@bloomsbury.com

Hazards

The publication contains no hazards

Support for non-visual reading

  • No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
  • Has alternative text descriptions for images

Visual adjustments

Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)

Navigation

  • Page list to go to pages from the print source version
  • Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
  • All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
  • Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
  • Purposes of all links are made clear

Rich content

Language tagging provided

Table of Contents

Introduction: In the Shadow of Pan
Chapter 1 The Ghosts of Primates Past
Chapter 2 The Hominin Twilight Zone
Chapter 3 Kith and Kin
Chapter 4 The Hominin Cognitive Niche
Chapter 5 Taming the Brute
Conclusion

Product details

Published Apr 11 2023
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 244
ISBN 9781666923889
Imprint Lexington Books
Illustrations 10 b/w illustrations; 2 tables;
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

M. Kay Martin

M. Kay Martin is a research anthropologist and aut…

ONLINE RESOURCES

Bloomsbury Collections

This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.

Related Titles

Environment: Staging