1. The Past, Present and Future of Paleoanthropology

Summary

This introductory chapter of A Companion to Paleoanthropology explains how the chapters in this book are organized around the themes that represent major areas of research in paleoanthropology. The first section of the book is on experimental approaches, quantitative methods, and life history theory. The second section on individual anatomical regions includes reviews of the evolution of skull, brain, dentition and diet, and limbs. The third section includes chapters on paleoecology, geochronology, the reconstruction of social behavior using primate models, and Paleolithic archeology. The fourth section on genetics and race includes chapters on the genetics of primate evolution and genetic determinants of morphology, as well as on the race concept historically and today in paleoanthropology. The final three sections of the book describe the fossil evidence of primate evolution from the origins through the Quaternary period to the emergence of modern humans.