Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia

by Takeru Akazawa (Editor), Kenichi Aoki (Editor), Ofer Bar-Yosef (Editor)

Overview

In this fascinating volume, the Middle Paleolithic archaeology of the Middle East is brought to the current debate on the origins of modern humans. These collected papers gather the most up-to-date archaeological discoveries of Western Asia - a region that is often overshadowed by African or European findings - but the only region in the world where both Neandertal and early modern human fossils have been found. The collection includes reports on such well known cave sites as Kebara, Hayonim, and Qafzeh, among others. The information and interpretations available here are a must for any serious researcher or student of anthropology or human evolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475785920
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	05/22/2013
Edition description:	1998
Pages:	539
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Issues of Evolution and Chronology: Evolutionary Implications of Altered Perspectives on Hominine Demes and Populations in the Later Pleisene of Western Eurasia; F.C. Howell. Chronological and Biogeographic Perspectives on Later Human Evolution; C. Stringer. The Chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant; O. Bar-Yosef. Archaeological Assemblages: Cultural Interpretations and Subsistence Strategies: The Earliest Paleolithic Occupation in Syria; S. Muhesen. Site Formation Processes in Kebara and Hayonim Caves and Their Significance in Levantine Prehistoric Caves; P. Goldberg, O. Bar-Yosef. Intrasite Spatial Patterns and Behavioral Modernity: Indications from the Late Levantine Mousterian Rockshelter of Tor Faraj, Southern Jordan; D.O. Henry. The Human Fossils: Climatic Changes, Paleogeography, and the Evolution of the Neandertals; J.-J. Hublin. Sapiens and Neandertals: Rethinking the Levantine Middle Paleolithic Hominids; B. Arensburg, A. Belfer-Cohen. Cultural and Human Evolution: Views from Neighboring Regions: The Evolution of Culture: A Comparative Perspective; K.N. Laland. Domestic Fire as Evidence for Language; A. Ronen. 24 Additional Chapters. Index.

Editorial Reviews

Contains 34 contributions which resulted from a November 1995 conference in Tokyo, divided into sections on issues of evolution and chronology, cultural interpretations and subsistence strategies in archaeological assemblages, human fossils, and views from neighboring regions on cultural and human evolution. Topics addressed include the chronology of the middle Paleolithic of the Levant, bitumen as hafting material on middle Paleolithic artifacts from the El Kowm Basin in Syria, ontogenetic variation in late pleistocene Homo Sapiens from the Near East, and domestic fire as evidence for language. Most of the contributions contain maps, graphs, and/or b&w photographs of fossils and dig sites. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

‘I recommend this book as an excellent summary of this emerging reality.'
American Scientist, 87 (1999)
‘This text is a must for researchers in Old World prehistory or the origins of modern humans and would serve well as a classroom text on Eurasian prehistory.'
Science Books and Films (September/October 1999)

From the Publisher