Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 4th edition

REVEL™ is Pearson’s newest way of delivering our respected content. Fully digital and highly engaging, REVEL replaces the textbook and gives students everything they need for the course. Informed by extensive research on how people read, think, and learn, REVEL is an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience — for less than the cost of a traditional textbook.
Present a rich overview of biological anthropology, from early foundations to recent innovations
REVEL for Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind combines comprehensive coverage of the foundations of the field with modern innovations and discoveries, helping students understand, and get excited about, the discipline. Because the authors conduct research in three of the main areas of biological anthropology — the human fossil record (Susan Antón), primate behavior and ecology (Craig Stanford), and human biology and the brain (John Allen) — they offer a specialist approach that engages students and gives them everything they need to master the subject. REVEL for the Fourth Edition continues to present traditional physical anthropology within a modern Darwinian framework, and includes coverage of contemporary discoveries to highlight the ever-increasing body of knowledge in biological anthropology.
Learn more about REVEL.

Dynamic content matched to the way today's students read, think, and learn brings content to life

• Integrated within the narrative, interactives and videos empower students to engage with concepts and take an active role in learning. REVEL's unique presentation of media as an intrinsic part of course content brings the hallmark features of Pearson's bestselling titles to life. REVEL's media interactives have been designed to be completed quickly, and its videos are brief, so students stay focused and on task.
• Located throughout REVEL, quizzing affords students opportunities to check their understanding at regular intervals before moving on.
• REVEL’s integrated writing tools enable educators to introduce writing – among the best ways to foster and assess critical thinking – into the course without significantly impacting their grading burden. Self-paced Journaling Prompts throughout the narrative encourage students to express their thoughts without breaking stride in their reading. Assignable Shared Writing Activities direct students to share written responses with classmates, fostering peer discussion.
  
• REVEL’s fully mobile learning experience enables students to read and interact with course material on the devices they use, anywhere and anytime. Responsive design allows students to access REVEL on their tablet devices and smart phones, with content displayed clearly in both portrait and landscape view.
• Highlighting, note taking, and a glossary let students read and study however they like. Educators can add notes for students, too, including reminders or study tips.

Superior assignability and tracking tools help educators make sure students are completing their reading and understanding core concepts

• REVEL’s assignment calendar allows educators to indicate precisely which readings must be completed on which dates. This clear, detailed schedule helps students stay on task by eliminating any ambiguity as to which material will be covered during each class. And when students know what is expected of them, they're better motivated to keep up.
• REVEL’s performance dashboard lets educators monitor class assignment completion as well as individual student achievement. It offers actionable information that helps educators intersect with their students in meaningful ways, such as points earned on quizzes and tests and time on task. Of particular note, the trending column reveals whether students' grades are improving or declining — which helps educators identify students who might need help to stay on track.

Reader-friendly pedagogical tools in each chapter guide students through the course

• NEW! Learning objectives, at the start of each chapter and tied to the main chapter headings, help students identify the main ideas on which to focus as they read. Used in conjunction with the summary and critical-thinking questions at the end of each chapter, the learning objectives provide a road map to the chapter’s important concepts and key ideas.
• Brief chapter-opening vignettes bring the main topic of the chapter to life. These vignettes help students get a feel for the chapter topics and serve as an enjoyable and informative reflection on the text material.
• NEW! Fresh chapter-opening vignettes in chapters 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 17 of the fourth edition highlight current trends as well as foundational principles in the field. 
• A marginal glossary defines new terms as students encounter them.  A complete glossary at the end of the text collects definitions of all key terms.
• A bulleted summary at the end of each chapter enables students to review important concepts.
• Critical-thinking questions at the close of each chapter encourage students to consider a key topic in depth, stimulating class discussion.
• A bibliography at the end of the text lists all the references used and cited in the text.

Engaging features bring biological anthropology to life

• Insights and Advances boxes in every chapter expand on key material and draw students’ attention to current events connected to the field, to emerging debates, or sometimes just to fascinating side stories.
• NEW! Chapter 5 includes an Insights and Advances box on populations, genetics, and cultural history
• NEW! Chapter 10 includes an Insights and Advances box on the locomotion of the last common ancestor of apes and humans
• NEW! Chapter 12 includes an Insights and Advances box on the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa
• NEW! Chapter 13 includes an Insights and Advances box on models for the transition to human cognition
• NEW! Chapter 15 includes an Insights and Advances box on early menarche and later health
• NEW! Chapter 16 includes an Insights and Advances box on the evolution of languages
• UPDATED! Additional Insights and Advances boxes in Chapters 7, 9, 10, and 13 have been substantially updated to include new perspectives and findings.
• Innovations boxes throughout the text provide impactful visual presentations of new, burgeoning areas of research, helping students to develop an appreciation for the excitement of discovery. The following Innovations boxes have been updated for the fourth edition:
• UPDATED! Chapter 2’s Innovations box: The Wide World of RNA
• UPDATED! Chapter 7’s Innovations box: Culture in Nonhuman Primates
• UPDATED! Chapter 8’s Innovations box: Time in a Bottle
• UPDATED! Chapter 10’s Innovations box: Dikika and Development
• UPDATED! Chapter 12’s Innovations box: Neandertal Genes
• UPDATED! Chapter 13’s Innovations box: Symbolism and Human Evolution
• UPDATED! Chapter 14’s Innovations box: Music, the Brain, and Evolution
• UPDATED! Chapter 17’s Innovations box: Ancestry and Identity Genetics

An outstanding visual program boosts student engagement and understanding

• UPDATED! The publisher and authors have worked together to provide the best possible photos and drawings of every topic covered in the book. Most of the photographs of living primates, fossils, and fossil sites were taken by one of the authors or were contributed by other biological anthropologists–and many of these have been updated and enhanced in this edition. The fourth edition includes some of the finest images available of everything from molecular genetics to stone tools.
• Many of the anatomical illustrations especially prepared for this text by medical illustrator Joanna Wallington have been retained in the fourth edition. Exceptionally detailed and anatomical accurate, these drawings enhance student insight into the morphological features of importance in human evolution.  
• UPDATED! Thoroughly revised illustrative timelines in Chapters 9, 11, 12, and 13 reflect recent discoveries of new sites, as well as substantially revised age estimates of known sites.
• The text’s compelling map program was created specifically for Biological Anthropology by Dorling Kindersley, a leading publisher of atlases for both the educational and consumer markets. The text’s maps depict the geography of everything from the distribution of living primates in the world today to the locations of the continents in the distant past.
• UPDATED! Two-page visually rich evolutionary features–appearing in a number of chapters, especially in Part IV–provide a snapshot of evolutionary development through time. These features enable students to easily grasp evolutionary changes through our vast sweep of time in greater detail. For the fourth edition, the evolutionary features have been updated with new photo imagery and have been substantially revised to reflect the latest age estimates for fossil localities.

I. Highlights of New and Updated Content
Dynamic content matched to the way today's students read, think, and learn brings content to life

• Integrated within the narrative, interactives and videos empower students to engage with concepts and take an active role in learning. REVEL's unique presentation of media as an intrinsic part of course content brings the hallmark features of Pearson's bestselling titles to life. REVEL's media interactives have been designed to be completed quickly, and its videos are brief, so students stay focused and on task.
• Located throughout REVEL, quizzing affords students opportunities to check their understanding at regular intervals before moving on.
• REVEL’s integrated writing tools enable educators to introduce writing — among the best ways to foster and assess critical thinking — into the course without significantly impacting their grading burden. Self-paced Journaling Prompts throughout the narrative encourage students to express their thoughts without breaking stride in their reading. Assignable Shared Writing Activities direct students to share written responses with classmates, fostering peer discussion.
• REVEL’s fully mobile learning experience enables students to read and interact with course material on the devices they use, anywhere and anytime. Responsive design allows students to access REVEL on their tablet devices and smart phones, with content displayed clearly in both portrait and landscape view.
• Highlighting, note taking, and a glossary let students read and study however they like. Educators can add notes for students, too, including reminders or study tips.

Superior assignability and tracking tools help educators make sure students are completing their reading and understanding core concepts

• REVEL’s assignment calendar allows educators to indicate precisely which readings must be completed on which dates. This clear, detailed schedule helps students stay on task by eliminating any ambiguity as to which material will be covered during each class. And when students know what is expected of them, they're better motivated to keep up.
• REVEL’s performance dashboard lets educators monitor class assignment completion as well as individual student achievement. It offers actionable information that helps educators intersect with their students in meaningful ways, such as points earned on quizzes and tests and time on task. Of particular note, the trending column reveals whether students' grades are improving or declining – which helps educators identify students who might need help to stay on track.

Reader-friendly pedagogical tools in each chapter guide students through the course

• Learning objectives, at the start of each chapter and tied to the main chapter headings, help students identify the main ideas on which to focus as they read. Used in conjunction with the summary and critical-thinking questions at the end of each chapter, the learning objectives provide a road map to the chapter’s important concepts and key ideas.
• Fresh chapter-opening vignettes in chapters 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 17 of the fourth edition highlight current trends as well as foundational principles in the field. 

Engaging features bring biological anthropology to life

• Several new Insights and Advances boxes expand on key material and draw students’ attention to current events connected to the field, to emerging debates, or sometimes just to fascinating side stories.
• Chapter 5 includes a new Insights and Advances box on populations, genetics, and cultural history
• Chapter 10 includes a new Insights and Advances box on the locomotion of the last common ancestor of apes and humans
• Chapter 12 includes a new Insights and Advances box on the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa
• Chapter 13 includes a new Insights and Advances box on models for the transition to human cognition
• Chapter 15 includes a new Insights and Advances box on early menarche and later health
• Chapter 16 includes a new Insights and Advances box on the evolution of languages
• UPDATED! Additional Insights and Advances boxes in Chapters 7, 9, 10, and 13 have been substantially updated to include new perspectives and findings.
• The following Innovations boxes have been updated for the fourth edition:
• UPDATED! Chapter 2’s Innovations box: The Wide World of RNA
• UPDATED! Chapter 7’s Innovations box: Culture in Nonhuman Primates
• UPDATED! Chapter 8’s Innovations box: Time in a Bottle
• UPDATED! Chapter 10’s Innovations box: Dikika and Development
• UPDATED! Chapter 12’s Innovations box: Neandertal Genes
• UPDATED! Chapter 13’s Innovations box: Symbolism and Human Evolution
• UPDATED! Chapter 14’s Innovations box: Music, the Brain, and Evolution
• UPDATED! Chapter 17’s Innovations box: Ancestry and Identity Genetics

An outstanding visual program boosts student engagement and understanding

• UPDATED! The publisher and authors have worked together to provide the best possible photos and drawings of every topic covered in the book. Most of the photographs of living primates, fossils, and fossil sites were taken by one of the authors or were contributed by other biological anthropologists—and many of these have been updated and enhanced in this edition. The fourth edition includes some of the finest images available of everything from molecular genetics to stone tools.
• UPDATED! Thoroughly revised illustrative timelines in Chapters 9, 11, 12, and 13 reflect recent discoveries of new sites, as well as substantially revised age estimates of known sites.
• UPDATED! Two-page visually rich evolutionary features—appearing in a number of chapters, especially in Part IV—provide a snapshot of evolutionary development through time. These features enable students to easily grasp evolutionary changes through our vast sweep of time in greater detail. For the fourth edition, the evolutionary features have been updated with new photo imagery and have been substantially revised to reflect the latest age estimates for fossil localities.

II. Chapter-by-Chapter Changes
Chapter 2
• New opening vignette• Updates on Hox genes, fetal stem cells, number of genes in complete genomes, importance of chromosomal events in human evolution
Chapter 3
• Reworked opening vignette• Updated sections on obesity and sickle cell disease
• Expanded and revised section on insertion and deletion mutations• New genetic section with material on the BRCA1 (breast cancer) allele
Chapter 4
• Reworked Linnaean chart
Chapter 5• Expanded and updated section on ABO blood system
• New Insights and Advances box on Bermuda population genetics and cultural history• Update and expansion of discussion on lactase persistence genetics
• Updates on distribution of malaria and sickle cell disease• Update on genetic adaptation to high altitude and connection between modern Tibetans and extinct Denisovans
Chapter 6
• New opening vignette• Updated explanation of strepsirhine/prosimian classification
• Updated explanation of origins of grasping hand and stereo vision• Updated explanation of ape/human classification
Chapter 7
• New opening vignette• Reworked box on infanticide
Chapter 8
• New opening vignette
Chapter 9• New opening vignette
• Updated Insights and Advances box on subfossil lemurs with new science on submerged fossils• Updated timelines/art on Miocene hominoids
• Updated discussion of Miocene hominoid relationships
Chapter 10• New Chapter 10 tightly integrates explanation of ape-human split, origin of bipedalism, and earliest hominins with descriptions of each species.
• New Insights and Advances box on the locomotion of the last common ancester• New discussion of the Burtele foot and the origin and mode of bipedality in early hominins
• New section on Australopithecus deriyemeda, a new 3.5-million-year-old species from Ethiopia• Updated Insights and Advances box on the treasures of the Afar Triangle
• Updated section on A. africanus with new discussion of new dating and significance of the 'little foot skeleton' from Sterkfontein• New discussion of the new isotopic and comparative findings about the diet of robust australopithecines
• New discussion of the earliest stone tools from 3.3 million years ago in West Turkana, Kenya
Chapter 11• New art based on the latest fossil finds and dating advances with updated timelines for early Homo
• New discussion of fossil finds from Ethiopia and Kenya that push back the origin of genus Homo and suggest the presence of multiple early species.• New section on the history, anatomy, and evolution of Homo habilis
• New section on the history, anatomy and evolution of Homo rudolfensiss • New Insights and Advances box, The Cradle of Humankind Heritage Site, describes exciting finds from South African cave sites that have redefined our view of early human evolution, and includes a discussion of the recent Rising Star cave expeditions
• New discussion of the recently discovered earliest stone tools and implications for foraging and of the oldest Acheulian tools
Chapter 12• New art based on the latest dating advances and fossil finds with updated timelines for middle Pleistocene Homo and Neanderthals
• New and expanded discussion of the role of archaic H. sapiens in human evolution, the possibility of multiple species in the middle Pleistocene and the potential relationship of Asian archaics to Denisovans• Updated Innovations feature on Neandertal genes including new fossil work and a discussion of late introgression from Neandertals to modern human genomes
• Updated discussion of the alternate views on the phylogenetic position of archaic H. sapiens
Chapter 13• New art based on the latest dating advances and new fossil finds with updated timelines for anatomically modern human fossil sites and the inclusion of a Neandertal timeline
• New Insights and Advances box entitled “Primate Intelligence: Why are Human Brains so Big?”• New discussion of recent findings of the Proto-Aurignacian tool industry and it’s associations with modern humans.
• Updated Innovations box on symbolism and human evolution with new art• Expanded discussion of new ancient DNA work from early modern humans including the Oase mandible and the Uist femur that suggest late Neandertal introgression into the human genome
• New in-text section on the importance of Vitamin D for high latitude dispersal• New discussion of recent discoveries and new DNA from early fossil humans in the New World, covering new finds such as a Hoyo Negro girl from a submerged cavern in Mexico and new DNA from Kennewick Man in Washington State
• Expanded in-text discussion of the peopling of the new world• Updated Insights and Advances box entitled “The Peopling of the New World: Was Clovis First?” with an overview of the genetic findings
Chapter 14
• Updates to section on brain anatomy, including neuron counts and endocast imaging• Expansion and update of section on brain-size scaling across species, including new section on temporal lobe scaling
• Update on hyoid bone anatomy and the evolution of language
Chapter 15• Updated US mortality statistics in epidemiology section
• Extensive update of section on anorexia nervosa• New Insights and Advances box entitled “Early Menarche and Later Health”
• Updated section on the "paleodiet"
Chapter 16• New section on progesterone and pre-menstrual syndrome
• New section on male violence and sexual competition• New Insights and Advances box on the evolution of languages
Chapter 17
• New opening vignette• Updated Innovations feature on ancestry and identity genetics with an expanded discussion and comparison of results across services