This comprehensive introduction to the field of human biology covers all the major areas of the field: genetic variation, variation related to climate, infectious and non-infectious diseases, aging, growth, nutrition, and demography. Written by four expert authors working in close collaboration, this second edition has been thoroughly updated to provide undergraduate and graduate students with two new chapters: one on race and culture and their ties to human biology, and the other a concluding summary chapter highlighting the integration and intersection of the topics covered in the book.
A comprehensive, expert-guided introduction to human biological study
Human biology attempts to understand the extent of human biological variability, explain the mechanisms that create and pattern this variability, and relate it to health, disease, and the social issues that concern us all. A collaborative effort by members of the Human Biology Association, Human Biology: An Evolutionary and Biocultural Perspective, Second Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to all the major areas of human biology: genetic variation, variation related to climate, infectious and non-infectious diseases, aging, growth, nutrition, and demography.
Extensively rewritten by chapter authors in close collaboration with the volume editors for consistent style and format, this newly updated edition explores variation through space and time from an evolutionary perspective and examines the effect of human culture on our biology. This Second Edition features:
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Comprehensively revised and newly illustrated content
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An increased emphasis on the ties between culture and human biology and on the increasingly multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the field
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Pedagogical aids, including text boxes within the chapters explaining the methods that human biologists use, "Big Questions" lists, and recommended readings
With sections covering heredity and patterned human variation; human adaptability; human biology and health; the human life course; and population dynamics, this extensive guide to human biology is an essential resource for all professionals and academics in the fields of human biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and population biology.
