The past decade has seen significant advances in our understanding of human evolution. Discoveries have presented extensive evidence of fossil hominids, whilst developments in dating techniques and the geological sciences have yielded information permitting the reconstruction of the environment, ecology and behaviour of past hominid communities. This book provides a survey of current evidence, ideas and interpretation of human evolution. It includes a fully illustrated account of the fossil record with its geological and archaeological contexts, reviewing competing theories and interpretations. Full details are presented of the evidence for human evolution, and the influence of theory and concepts in palaeoanthropology is discussed. The book highlights areas of controversy and includes recent discoveries and debates about such major topics as early hominid interrelationships, diversity in early Homo, the space of change in Herectus and the origin of modern humans.
While emphasizing the fossil evidence, the author also reviews early archaeological record and reconstructions of hominid ecology and behaviour, providing an overview of current human evolutionary studies and an indication of likely developments over the next decade.