Children of the Ice Age: How a Global Catastrophe Allowed Humans to Evolve - Hardcover

Stanley, Steven M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517588676 ISBN 13: 9780517588673

Publisher: Harmony, 1996

Synopsis

The contending theories of human evolution hold a special fascination for those who question the origin of human nature. In this book, prominent Johns Hopkins paleobiologist Steven M. Stanley proposes a bold new theory answering the classic chicken-or-egg question of human evolution: which came first, our bipedalism or the unprecedented size of our brains?
With insight and remarkable common sense, Dr. Stanley argues that the confluence of environmental factors and developmental imperatives is the key to the mysteriously swift evolution from Australopithecus to Homo two-and-a-half-million years ago. While humans' unique brain is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution, Stanley shows that it is intimately tied to our species' slow maturation and "postnatal helplessness," which requires extremely attentive parenting, particularly constant lifting and carrying of infants. This trade-off, which Stanley calls a "great evolutionary compromise," indicates that no tree-dwelling species could develop large brains. But if abandoning the trees was an evolutionary requisite for large brains, what can explain why our ancestors would choose the far more dangerous grassy terrain of Africa in the first place? A catastrophic change in the global climate, which Stanley links in a novel but convincing way to the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, is the answer Stanley unfolds in this anthropological detective story.

About this title

About the Author

Steven M. Stanley is Professor of Paleobiology at Johns Hopkins University.

Reviews

When presented with persuasive rhetoric, new theories of human origins can seem to be the coming consensus, as with those Stanley proposes. A major problem he and fellow paleontologists grapple with is the connection between Australopithecus (the "Lucy" fossil) and Homo erectus (the "Turkana Boy" fossil). The key, Stanley argues, is the movement of land masses millions of years ago between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that triggered an ice age that fragmented the African forests inhabited by Australopithecus, from an isolated population of which, through the accelerated processes of "punctuated equilibrium," emerged the Homo genus. In addition to that scientifically updated Great Chain of Being, Stanley dwells on pressures likely to have favored a change in Lucy's kin after anatomical stagnation for a million years. These he groups under inferences about carnivores and child rearing, which he headlines as the "terrestrial imperative" --what made it safe for hominids to descend from the trees. A fascinating, able writer, Stanley should attract as much general interest as he has specialized attention from the professionals. Gilbert Taylor

Which came first in human evolution?upright walking or our large brain? Noted for his contributions to evolutionary theory, paleobiologist Stanley (Johns Hopkins) poses his own question: What catastrophe could have prompted our ancestor, Australopithecus arboreal?apelike and successful for one million years?to leave the safety of the trees for a much more dangerous life on the ground? He proposes that the onset of the modern Ice Age altered Africa's landscape, drastically reducing its woodlands and ultimately prompting Australopithecus to abandon trees, which finally provided the opportunity for a larger brain to evolve?possible only when our ancestors freed their hands to care for immature offspring. Stanley presents convincing arguments for the premise that a change of behavior tends to precede a major alteration of physiognomy. He supports the punctuated equilibrium theory of evolution, which makes Homo Sapiens a lucky accident rather than the logical outcome of natural selection; and shows that what sets us apart from all other species is our ability constantly to adjust our relationship to a changing environment. This fascinating, eminently readable book is sure to arouse controversy but contributes thought-provoking arguments to the continuing search for our evolutionary origins. Highly recommended.?Gloria Maxwell, Kansas City P.L., Mo.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harmony
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0517588676
• ISBN 13: 9780517588673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 278