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Bibframe Work

Title
The improbable primate
Type
Text
Monograph
Contribution
Finlayson, Clive, 1955- (Author)
Subject
Human beings--Origin (LCSH)
Water--History (LCSH)
Human evolution (LCSH)
Paleoecology--Pleistocene (LCSH)
Human beings--Effect of environment on (LCSH)
Monogenism and polygenism (LCSH)
Neanderthals (LCSH)
Paleoanthropology (LCSH)
Biological Evolution (MESH)
Human beings--Effect of environment on (FAST)
Human beings--Origin (FAST)
Human evolution (FAST)
Monogenism and polygenism (FAST)
Neanderthals (FAST)
Paleoanthropology (FAST)
Paleoecology (FAST)
Pleistocene Geologic Epoch (FAST)
Water (FAST)
From 10 thousand to 2 million years ago (FAST)
Hominisation (GND)
Verbreitungsökologie (GND)
Wasser (GND)
Genre Form
History (FAST)
Language
English
Illustrative Content
Illustrations
Maps
Classification
LCC: GN281 .F55 2014
Could not render: bf:status
Supplementary Content
bibliography
index
Content
text
Summary
In The Improbable Primate, Clive Finlayson takes an ecological approach to our evolution, considering the origins of modern humans within the context of a drying climate and changing landscapes. Finlayson argues that environmental change, particularly availability of water, played a critical role in shaping the direction of human evolution, contributing to our spread and success. He asserts that our ancestors carved a niche for themselves by leaving the forest and forcing their way into a long-established community of carnivores in a tropical savannah as climate changes opened up the landscape. They took their chance at high noon, when most other predators were asleep. Adapting to this new lifestyle by shedding their hair and developing an active sweating system to keep cool, being close to fresh water was vital. As the climate dried, our ancestors, already bipedal, became taller and slimmer, more adept at travelling farther in search of water. The challenges of seeking water in a drying landscape moulded the minds and bodies of early humans, and directed their migrations and eventual settlements.
Table Of Contents
The inverted panda
And the world changed forever
At the lake's edge
The first humans
Middle earth : the home of the first humans
The drying world of the Middle Pleistocene
The rain chasers : solutions in a drying world
The exceptional world of the Neanderthal
Global expansion of the rain chasers
Australia
From Lake Chad to Puritjarra and beyond.
Authorized Access Point
Finlayson, Clive, 1955- The improbable primate
Admin Metadata
Generation Process: DLC marc2bibframe2 v2.5.0
Status: changed
Encoding Level: full
Identified By: bf:Local, 17857952 bf:Local, 016596071
Change Date: 2016-06-09T09:41:08
Creation Date: 2013-08-20
Description Language: English
Description Modifier: United States, Library of Congress
Description Authentication:
Non-rendered Predicates: bf:assigner