Download Free Homo Floresiensis Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Homo Floresiensis and write the review.

In the most revolutionary archaeological find of the new century, an international team of archaeologists led by Mike Morwood discovered a new, diminutive species of human on the remote Indonesian island of Flores. Nicknamed the “Hobbit,” this was no creation of Tolkien's fantasy. The three foot tall skeleton with a brain the size of a chimpanzee’s was a tool-using, fire-making, cooperatively hunting person who inhabited Flores alongside modern humans as recently as 13,000 years ago. This book is Morwood’s description of this monumental discovery and the intense study that has been undertaken to validate his view of its relationship to our species. He chronicles the bitter debates over Homo Floresiensis, the objections (some spiteful) of colleagues, the theft and damage of some of the specimens, and the endless battle against government and academic bureaucracies that hindered his research. This updated paperback edition contains an epilogue that reports on the most recent debates, findings, and analyses of this amazing discovery.
A remarkable investigation into the hominoids of Flores Island, their place on the evolutionary spectrum—and whether or not they still survive. While doing fieldwork on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, anthropologist Gregory Forth came across people talking about half-apelike, half-humanlike creatures that once lived in a cave on the slopes of a nearby volcano. Over the years he continued to record what locals had to say about these mystery hominoids while searching for ways to explain them as imaginary symbols of the wild or other cultural representations. Then along came the ‘hobbit’. In 2003, several skeletons of a small-statured early human species alongside stone tools and animal remains were excavated in a cave in western Flores. Named Homo floresiensis, this ancient hominin was initially believed to have lived until as recently as 12,000 years ago— possibly overlapping with the appearance of Homo sapiens on Flores. In view of this timing and the striking resemblance of floresiensis to the mystery creatures described by the islanders, Forth began to think about the creatures as possibly reflecting a real species, either now extinct but retained in ‘cultural memory’ or even still surviving. He began to investigate reports from the Lio region of the island where locals described 'ape-men' as still living. Dozens claimed to have even seen them. In Between Ape and Human, we follow Forth on the trail of this mystery hominoid, and the space they occupy in islanders’ culture as both natural creatures and as supernatural beings. In a narrative filled with adventure, Lio culture and language, zoology and natural history, Forth comes to a startling and controversial conclusion. Unique, important, and thought-provoking, this book will appeal to anyone interested in human evolution, the survival of species (including our own) and how humans might relate to ‘not-quite-human’ animals. Between Ape and Human is essential reading for all those interested in cryptozoology, and it is the only firsthand investigation by a leading anthropologist into the possible survival of a primitive species of human into recent times—and its coexistence with modern humans.
Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? Why do we differ from other animals? How do scientists trace and construct our evolutionary history? The Evolution of Our Tribe: Hominini provides answers to these questions and more. The book explores the field of paleoanthropology past and present. Beginning over 65 million years ago, Welker traces the evolution of our species, the environments and selective forces that shaped our ancestors, their physical and cultural adaptations, and the people and places involved with their discovery and study. It is designed as a textbook for a course on Human Evolution but can also serve as an introductory text for relevant sections of courses in Biological or General Anthropology or general interest. It is both a comprehensive technical reference for relevant terms, theories, methods, and species and an overview of the people, places, and discoveries that have imbued paleoanthropology with such fascination, romance, and mystery.
"With wit and authority, Falk tells the parallel stories of two fossil discoveries that surprised the world, revealing the larger significance of these finds. Her lively recounting combines new historical research with her first-hand involvement in controversial interpretations."—Pat Shipman, author of The Animal Connection and The Man Who Found the Missing Link “An absorbing and engagingly personal account, by a leading participant, of two of the major “brain wars” that have raged along the path to our current understanding of human evolution.”--Ian Tattersall, author of The Fossil Trail and Human Origins “In The Fossil Chronicles, Falk engages us with a ‘tale of two brains’. While navigating the surfaces of these ancient brains, she reveals the convolutions of scientific controversies and how personalities and paleopolitics shape the ways we think about human evolution.”—Nina G. Jablonski, author of Skin: A Natural History
This study proposes to examine the case of Homo erectus whose phylogenetic position and taxonomic status remain unclear despite considerable research aimed at identifying this taxon from archaic forms. The analysis put forward belongs to the domain of alpha-taxonomy and leads to the consideration of the definition of several human fossil taxons including Solo Man and Flores Man.
A modern-day Raiders of the Lost Ark -- the story of the discovery of an entirely new species of human. When in October 2004 the prestigious science publication Nature published the discovery of a 3-foot (1-metre) tall hominid skeleton, the world's press went wild. Hailed as one of the most important scientific discoveries for years, the 'Hobbit', as the adult female came to be known, entered the history books. But until now none of the members of the original archaeological team have told their story in book form. The Discovery of the Hobbit, written by the orchestrator of the dig, describes in vivid detail what the project was aiming to achieve, what it was like to stumble across such a find, what it means for our understanding of the history of the human race and how the whole enterprise nearly collapsed under the weight of Australia's fractious relationship with Indonesia. Featuring a bizarre island where evolution ran amok in isolation from the rest of the world and an eerie myth that may well be grounded in truth -- not to mention the reasons why other 'hobbits' may well be alive and undiscovered elsewhere in Indonesia, this remarkable book is an adventure story and a fascinating investigation, a moving and personal narrative and a landmark celebration of scientific endeavour.
In his new book The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack, human paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall argues that a long tradition of "human exceptionalism" in paleoanthropology has distorted the picture of human evolution. Drawing partly on his own career—from young scientist in awe of his elders to crotchety elder statesman—Tattersall offers an idiosyncratic look at the competitive world of paleoanthropology, beginning with Charles Darwin 150 years ago, and continuing through the Leakey dynasty in Africa, and concluding with the latest astonishing findings in the Caucasus. The book's title refers to the 1856 discovery of a clearly very old skull cap in Germany's Neander Valley. The possessor had a brain as large as a modern human, but a heavy low braincase with a prominent brow ridge. Scientists tried hard to explain away the inconvenient possibility that this was not actually our direct relative. One extreme interpretation suggested that the preserved leg bones were curved by both rickets, and by a life on horseback. The pain of the unfortunate individual's affliction had caused him to chronically furrow his brow in agony, leading to the excessive development of bone above the eye sockets. The subsequent history of human evolutionary studies is full of similarly fanciful interpretations. With tact and humor, Tattersall concludes that we are not the perfected products of natural processes, but instead the result of substantial doses of random happenstance.
This lively and provocative book refutes the claim that the “Hobbit” is a new species, and makes a forceful critique of the cultural and political pressures that lead to the wide acceptance of unsupported theories in science.
This 3-volume handbook brings together contributions by the world ́s leading specialists that reflect the broad spectrum of modern palaeoanthropology, thus presenting an indispensable resource for professionals and students alike. Vol. 1 reviews principles, methods, and approaches, recounting recent advances and state-of-the-art knowledge in phylogenetic analysis, palaeoecology and evolutionary theory and philosophy. Vol. 2 examines primate origins, evolution, behaviour, and adaptive variety, emphasizing integration of fossil data with contemporary knowledge of the behaviour and ecology of living primates in natural environments. Vol. 3 deals with fossil and molecular evidence for the evolution of Homo sapiens and its fossil relatives.
Contested Bones is the result of four years of intense research into the primary scientific literature concerning those bones that are thought to represent transitional forms between ape and man. This book's title reflects the surprising reality that all the famous "hominin" bones continue to be fiercely contested today--even within the field of paleoanthropology. This work is unique in that it is the most comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date book available that critically examines the major claims about the various hominin fossils. Even though the topic is technical, the book is accessible for a broad audience and is reported to be engaging even for nontechnical people. Contested Bones provides new insights regarding the history of paleoanthropology, and the sequence of discoveries that bring us up to the current state of confusion within the field. The authors provide alternative interpretations of the hominin species. Surprisingly, the conclusions of the authors consistently find strong support from various experts within the field. This book addresses a wide variety of important topics... "Which, if any, of the species gave rise to man?" "Did 'Lucy's' kind walk upright like modern humans or did they live among the trees like ordinary apes?" "Was 'Ardi' the earliest human ancestor?" "Were 'Erectus' and the newly discovered 'Naledi' sub-human or were they fully human?" "What are the implications of the growing evidence that shows man coexisted with the australopithecine apes?" "Are the dating method consistently reliable?" "What does the latest genetic evidence reveal?" "Can we be certain that man evolved from an australopith ape?" Contested Bones brings clarity to a fascinating but complex subject, and offers refreshing new insights into how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.