The Lawrence Jacobsen Library
P-S/PrimateLit Review Books
MAN THE HUNTED: PRIMATES, PREDATORS AND HUMAN EVOLUTION, EXP. ED.Hart, Donna; Sussman, Robert W.
Westview Press, 2009.
MAN THE HUNTED: PRIMATES, PREDATORS AND HUMAN EVOLUTION. exp. ed.
Donna Hart and Robert W. Sussman
Westview Press
ABOUT THE BOOK
Man the Hunted argues that primates, including the earliest members of the human family, have evolved as the prey of any number of predators, including wild cats and dogs, hyenas, snakes, crocodiles, and even birds. The authors’ studies of predators on monkeys and apes are supplemented here with the observations of naturalists in the field and revealing interpretations of the fossil record. Eyewitness accounts of the “man the hunted” drama being played out even now give vivid evidence of its prehistoric significance. This provocative view of human evolution suggests that countless adaptations that have allowed our species to survive—from larger brains to speech—stem from a considerably more vulnerable position on the food chain than we might like to imagine. The myth of early humans as fearless hunters dominating the earth obscures our origins as just one of many species that had to be cautious, depend on other group members, communicate danger, and come to terms with being merely one cog in the complex cycle of life. The expanded edition includes a new chapter that describes the ever-increasing evidence of predation on humans and claims that the earliest humans were neither hunters nor even the accomplished scavengers that many authorities have suggested. Furthermore, the authors provide evidence that as a prey species humans relied on cooperation as one of many predator avoidance mechanisms.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Donna Hart is associate teaching professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and was a professional in the field of wildlife conservation for many years. Her current writing projects include The Complex Nature of Human Variation (forthcoming, Westview Press).
Robert W. Sussman is professor of physical anthropology and environmental science at Washington University (St. Louis), editor emeritus of American Anthropologist, and is currently editor of Yearbook of Physical Anthropology and secretary of the anthropology section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the author of many scientific articles and books on anthropology and primatology.
CONTENTS
Foreword to the First Edition
Preface to the Expanded Paperback Edition
1. Just Another Item on the Menu
2. Debunking “Man the Hunter”
3. Who’s Eating Whom?
4. Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
5. Coursing Hyenas and Hungry Dogs
6. Missionary Position
7. Terror from the Sky
8. We Weren’t Just Waiting Around to be Eaten!
9. Gentle Savage or Bloodthirsty Brute?
10. Man the Hunted
11. The Last Word
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index
WHERE TO ORDER
ISBN 0-8133-4403-4 (Paperback) $35.00 USA / $37.50 CAN
Westview Press
1094 Flex Drive
Jackson, TN 38301
Tel: 800-343-4499
Fax: 800-351-5073
Website: http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/westview/home.jsp
Link: http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/westview/book_detail.jsp?isbn=0813344034
Posted Date: 2009-05-27
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