Anthropology: The Human Challenge (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac) - Softcover

Haviland, William A.; Prins, Harald E. L.; Walrath, Dana; McBride, Bunny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534623611 ISBN 13: 9780534623616

Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing, 2004

Synopsis

This book offers a comprehensive and balanced presentation on views of human culture, evolution, and prehistory. The text presents the principles and processes of anthropology, both physical (biological) and cultural, including ethnology, linguistics, and prehistoric archaeology in an integrated, holistic manner. A new framework emphasizing connections (between the subfields of anthropology) and the challenge of global interconnections serves to unify the material. Biocultural connections are also emphasized as the authors integrate contemporary research and ideas from several schools of thought, using a lively writing style to engage students and keep them interested in "real world" anthropology. The first section of the text covers selected aspects of physical anthropology and prehistoric archaeology as they relate to the origin of humanity, the origin of culture, and the development of human biological and cultural diversity. The second section covers the central concepts of cultural anthropology and linguistics, and challenges students to think about the diversity of the human condition and the changes ensuing from a globally connected world. Students are challenged to think about the world around them from the perspective of anthropology, and they are treated to a fascinating examination of the field of cultural anthropology, its findings, and its relevance to the modern world.

About this title

About the Author

William A. Haviland is professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, where he founded the Department of Anthropology and taught for 32 years. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has carried out original research in archaeology in Guatemala and Vermont; ethnography in Maine and Vermont; and physical anthropology in Guatemala. This work has been the basis of numerous publications in national and international books and journals, as well as in media intended for the general public. His books include The Original Vermonters, coauthored with Marjorie Power, and a technical monograph on ancient Maya settlement. He also served as consultant for the award-winning telecourse Faces of Culture, and he is co-editor of the series Tikal Reports, published by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Besides teaching and writing, Dr. Haviland has lectured to many professional and nonprofessional audiences in Canada, Mexico, Lesotho, South Africa, and Spain, as well as in the United States. He served as expert witness for the Missisquoi Abenaki of Vermont in an important court case over aboriginal fishing rights. Dr. Haviland was named University Scholar by the Graduate School of the University of Vermont in 1990; received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, St. Francis/Sokoki Band in 1996; and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for Research on Vermont in 2006. Now retired from teaching, he continues his research, writing, and lecturing from the coast of Maine. He serves as a trustee for the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, focused on Maine's Native American history, culture, art, and archaeology. His most recent books are At the Place of the Lobsters and Crabs (2009) and Canoe Indians of Down East Maine (2012).

Review

"The major strength of the book is its extensive coverage. It is very complete and makes a tremendous reference."

Edition details

• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0534623611
• ISBN 13: 9780534623616
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 832