Books in the Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology series

Biomedical approaches increasingly work with human variation and this volume focuses on Africa, the most genetically diverse continent, and the birthplace of modern humans. It considers population structure and the genetic basis of common infectious and non-communicable diseases in historic and modern contexts, to shed light on human biology.

Taking a comparative approach, this book investigates the ways in which obesity and its susceptibilities are framed in science and policy and how they might work better. Providing a clear, authoritative voice on the debate, the author builds on early work to engage further in ecological and complexity thinking in obesity. Many of the models that have emerged since obesity became a population-level issue are examined, including the energy balance model, and models used to examine human body fatness from a range of perspectives including evolutionary, anthropological, environmental, and political viewpoints. The book is ideal for those working on, or interested in, obesity science, health policy, health economics, evolutionary medicine, medical sociology, nutrition and public health who want to understand the shifts that have taken place in obesity science, policy, and intervention in the past forty years.

Seasonal variability in food abundance affects what primates eat, how they search for food, how and when they are active, and as a consequence, their body size, social life and reproductive timing. This book examines how seasonality might have also affected human evolution particularly in the transition to the savannah.

Most animals are capable of altering their biology or behaviour to respond plastically to changes in their environment. Humans are perhaps the most plastic of all species, and this book examines how human variability is affected by such factors as starvation, disease, child growth and migration.

Somatotyping is a method of description and assessment of the body on three shape and composition scales: endomorphy (relative fatness), mesomorphy (relative musculoskeletal robustness), and ectomorphy (relative linearity). This book presents a comprehensive history of somatotyping.

Primate Dentition is a comprehensive reference work on the teeth of extant primates that will serve as a benchmark for researchers in primatology, physical anthropology, comparative anatomy and vertebrate paleontology.

The assembled chapters in this book explore approaches that allow a biocultural identity to be discovered. They also explore approaches that allow the detection of human lifestyle and living conditions, and the meaning of biological information from human remains provides for the understanding of a cultural setting.

This book presents an overview of how and why human populations vary so markedly in their skin colour. The biological aspects of the pigment cell and its production of melanin are reviewed and the functions of melanin are considered. The social and biological interface of skin colour in society is also discussed.

Many aspects of human activity involve energy transfer of some type. This book considers various ways in which measurements of energy intake, expenditure and balance have been used to study human populations. It will be useful to teachers and students of human biology, anthropology and nutrition.

The unique contribution made by biological anthropology to human welfare lies in the fundamental understanding it can provide to the dynamic interrelationships between physical and social factors. By understanding these patterns, this book helps us interpret the significance of variation in such measures of human well-being in terms of the incidence of disease and mortality rate.

By studying dental and skeletal remains, much can be learnt about how humans lived and grew in the past. This interdisciplinary volume, first published in 1999, places methodological issues of growth and development within a strong theoretical framework. It will be essential reading for biological and physical anthropologists.

For decades anthropologists and other scientists have participated in 'post-mortem dissections' of the lives of historical figures, identifying and analyzing bodies. Presenting relevant case studies, this book examines the role of the anthropologist in the writing of histories about the famous and infamous dead and how those histories reflect contemporary social interests.

Neanderthals and Modern Humans develops the theme of the close relationship between climate change, ecological change and biogeographical patterns in humans during the Pleistocene. In particular, it challenges the view that Modern Human 'superiority' caused the extinction of the Neanderthals between 40 and 30 thousand years ago. Clive Finlayson shows that to understand human evolution, the spread of humankind across the world and the extinction of archaic populations, we must move away from a purely theoretical evolutionary ecology base and realise the importance of wider biogeographic patterns including the role of tropical and temperate refugia. His proposal is that Neanderthals became extinct because their world changed faster than they could cope with, and that their relationship with the arriving Modern Humans, where they met, was subtle.

This volume is a review of methods used in human growth research. Aimed at junior and senior researchers in human biology, anthropology, epidemiology and paediatrics, it provides a minimum of the mathematics behind the methods, and focuses on concepts, possibilities, limitations and applications.

This volume is a review of methods used in human growth research. Aimed at junior and senior researchers in human biology, anthropology, epidemiology and paediatrics, it provides a minimum of the mathematics behind the methods, and focuses on concepts, possibilities, limitations and applications.

The follow-up companion to The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth (Cambridge, 1997), this volume focuses on applied dental research. It starts with a cutting-edge section on genetics, and continues with a series of case studies demonstrating the utility of morphological analysis in fossil hominin and more recent populations (and individuals).

Through a historical perspective on the long-studied Arashiyama population of Japanese macaques, this book reviews the range of current primatological research topics, including life history, sexual, social and cultural behaviour and ecology. It highlights the historic value of the Arashiyama group and illustrates its continuing importance with significant new research.

This book is a holistic treatment of primate conservation research. Featuring a range of personal narratives, researchers reveal their motivations and strategies for confronting the threats pushing primates towards extinction. It will appeal to anyone interested in wildlife conservation who wants to learn about research methods and motivations.

This volume considers evidence concerning prehistoric migration, and colonial, regional and global processes in the production of health change in the Asia-Pacific region. This cohesive volume will be of interest to graduates and researchers specializing in public/global health and biocultural anthropology.

Reflecting the enormous advances made in the field over the past twenty years, Larsen discusses newly emerging areas in bioarchaeology. Jargon free, richly illustrated, and with numerous case studies and references, this textbook will be a valuable source to undergraduates, graduates, and instructors interested in the fundamentals of bioarchaeology.

Written for archaeologists and biological anthropologists, both at academic and professional levels, this integrative volume brings together evidence from archaeological excavations and human skeletal remains to document how past cultures and peoples successfully lived and interacted in the Arctic environment of Point Hope, as well as Alaska as a whole.

Monkeys and apes often share parasites with humans, so understanding the ecology of infectious diseases in non-human primates is of paramount importance. Written for researchers, this book provides up-to-date information on methods of study, natural history and ecology/theory of the exciting field of primate parasite ecology.

Uniting contributions from international experts, this first ever volume on the Cheirogaleidae family reviews their behaviour, physiology, ecology, genetics and biogeography in one comprehensive volume. Featuring previously unpublished research, this unique book will encourage further exploration of the dwarf and mouse lemurs of Madagascar.

Timely analysis of medical and evolutionary data to address the role body fat has played in human biology, including in the current obesity epidemic. Obesity researchers from human biologists and anthropologists to health professionals will benefit from this comprehensive evolutionary approach to examining human body composition.

Explores the most recent findings in human reproductive ecology organised around four key themes: the impact of the environment on reproduction, the role of physical activity and energetics in regulating reproduction, sexual maturation and ovulation assessment and demographic, health and family planning issues.

Consanguinity in Context will appeal to a wide readership, from clinicians and geneticists to anthropologists and social scientists. Written in an approachable manner, with excellent illustrations and relevant background information, this book is the essential guide to the controversial medical and social issue of intra-familial marriage.

Blurton Jones interweaves data from ecology, demography and evolutionary ecology to present a comprehensive analysis of the Hadza tribe. Discussion centres on expansion of the adaptationist perspective beyond topics customarily studied in human behavioural ecology, to interpret a wider range of anthropological concepts.

Skeletonized human remains are often the only biological evidence for interpreting violent interactions in the past (by bioarchaeologists) and the present (by forensic anthropologists). Experts in bone analysis reveal how bone trauma is reconstructed. Case studies highlight methods for reading the bones and interpreting the violent encounters that took place.

For decades anthropologists and other scientists have participated in 'post-mortem dissections' of the lives of historical figures, identifying and analyzing bodies. Presenting relevant case studies, this book examines the role of the anthropologist in the writing of histories about the famous and infamous dead and how those histories reflect contemporary social interests.

A novel synthesis of information relating to the biology, function and evolution of the human pelvis, which is crucial for both locomotion and childbirth. It collates evidence concerning comparative anatomy, clinical and experimental studies, and quantitative evolutionary models, and provides an assessment of existing paradigms of pelvic evolution.