The Artistic Animal; An Inquiry Into the Biological Roots of Art

xii, [2], 153, [1] pages. Decorative front cover. Footnotes. Some ink underlining and marks noted. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. Cover has some wear and soiling. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page. Inscription reads For Sheila Smith & to her future in anthropology. Sincerely Alexander Alland, Jr. Fall 77. This may be the same Sheila Smith that the Charles County Archeological Society of Maryland (CCASM) thanked for her generous donation. in 2011 As she requested, CCASM is using the money to fund a grant for Peter Quantock's magnetometer and ground penetrating radar research in Port Tobacco Village. CCASM appreciates their efforts in increasing the archaeological knowledge of Charles County. (Peter was then working on a Masters in Anthropology at the University of Denver.) Alexander Alland, Jr. [Columbia University, New York, NY, assistant professor, 1964-68, associate professor, 1968-72, professor, 1972-2001; retired, 2001] has said: "Although I am an academic and professional anthropologist, I attempt to write clearly and for both professional and lay persons—I resent the use of academic jargon. I am also an activist anthropologist. My book, Race in Mind: Race, IQ, and Other Racisms, is a critical analysis of what I consider to be flawed academic theories of the links between race and intelligence quotients. I also work in the area of European anthropology, specializing in nonviolent movements originating in regional politics versus the nation-state. Finally, I have a strong interest in art and am currently working on a book concerning aesthetic universals." In The Artistic Animal a renowned anthropologist looks at controversial questions[such as subway graffiti] from an evolutionary point of view. He concludes that there are certain fundamentals of art which are the same for children and adults, early and modern man, Asians and Americans. For the real roots of art extend back to mankind's animal ancestors and it is with them that we must begin our search for the meaning of art. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing.…