Steven Mithen's Books

The Singing Neanderthals

The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body

By: Steven J. Mithen

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The Singing Neanderthals

The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body

By: Steven J. Mithen

An examination of our language instinct. Steven Mithen draws on a huge range of sources, from neurological case studies, through child psychology and the communication systems of non-human primates to the latest paleoarchaeological evidence.

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390

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Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674021924

ISBN 13

9780674021921

Land of the Ilich

Journey's into Islay's Past

By: Steven Mithen

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Land of the Ilich

Journey's into Islay's Past

By: Steven Mithen

As an archaeologist, Steven Mithen has worked on the Hebridean island of Islay over a period of many years. In this book he introduces the sites and monuments and tells the story of the island's people from the earliest stone age hunter-gatherers to those who lived in townships and in the grandeur of Islay House. He visits the tombs of Neolithic farmers, forts of Iron Age chiefs and castles of medieval warlords, discovers where Bronze Age gold was found, treacherous plots were made against the Scottish crown, and explores the island of today, which was forged more recently by those who mined for lead, grew flax, fished for herring and distilled whisky – the industry for which the island is best known today. Although an island history, this is far from an insular story: Islay has always been at a cultural crossroads, receiving a constant influx of new people and new ideas, making it a microcosm for the story of Scotland, Britain and beyond.

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598

Publisher

Birlinn Ltd

Published Date

ISBN 10

1788853091

ISBN 13

9781788853095

The Prehistory of the Mind

A Search for the Origins of Art, Religion and Science

By: Steven J. Mithen

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The Prehistory of the Mind

A Search for the Origins of Art, Religion and Science

By: Steven J. Mithen

Since the 1980s consensus opinion is that the mind is like a collection of specialised modules each tasked for a specific purpose. The author seeks to elucidate and account for this theory and explain what it means to be human in this context.

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357

Publisher

Orion Publishing Group

Published Date

ISBN 10

075380204X

ISBN 13

9780753802045

The Language Puzzle

Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved

By: Steven Mithen

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The Language Puzzle

Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved

By: Steven Mithen

A top scholar reveals the most complete picture to date of how early human speech led to the languages we use today The emergence of language began with the apelike calls of our earliest ancestors. Today, the world is home to thousands of complex languages. Yet exactly how, when, and why this evolution occurred has been one of the most enduring—and contentiously debated—questions in science. In The Language Puzzle, renowned archaeologist Steven Mithen puts forward a groundbreaking new account of the origins of language. Scientists have gained new insights into the first humans of 2.8 million years ago, and how numerous species flourished but only one, Homo sapiens, survives today. Drawing from this work and synthesizing research across archaeology, psychology, linguistics, genetics, neuroscience, and more, Mithen details a step-by-step explanation of how our human ancestors transitioned from apelike calls to words, and from words to language as we use it today. He explores how language shaped our cognition and vice versa; how metaphor advanced Homo sapiens’ ability to formulate abstract concepts, develop agriculture, and—ultimately—shape the world. The result is a master narrative that builds bridges between disciplines, stuns with its breadth and depth, and spans millennia of societal development. Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Language Puzzle marks a seminal understanding of the evolution of language.

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336

Publisher

Basic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

154160539X

ISBN 13

9781541605398

Thirst

By: Steven Mithen,Sue Mithen

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Thirst

By: Steven Mithen,Sue Mithen

Steven Mithen's unique history of water and society in the ancient world has never been told before and is particularly relevant today in the face of global climate change.

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347

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Orion Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

178022687X

ISBN 13

9781780226873

The Language Puzzle

How We Talked Our Way Out of the Stone Age

By: Steven Mithen

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The Language Puzzle

How We Talked Our Way Out of the Stone Age

By: Steven Mithen

A tour de force' Alice Roberts 'Wonderful ... A remarkably comprehensive biography of the single most important thing we all share - language' Robin Dunbar The relationship between language, thought and culture is of concern to anyone with an interest in what it means to be human. The Language Puzzle explains how the invention of words at 1.6 million years ago began the evolution of human language from the ape-like calls of our earliest ancestors to our capabilities of today, with over 6000 languages in the world and each of us knowing over 50,000 words. Drawing on the latest discoveries in archaeology, linguistics, psychology, and genetics, Steven Mithen reconstructs the steps by which language evolved; he explains how it transformed the nature of thought and culture, and how we talked our way out of the Stone Age into the world of farming and swiftly into today's Digital Age. While this radical new work is not shy to reject outdated ideas about language, it builds bridges between disciplines to forge a new synthesis for the evolution of language that will find widespread acceptance as a new standard account for how humanity began.

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350

Publisher

Profile Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1800811594

ISBN 13

9781800811591

After the Ice

A Global Human History, 20,000 - 5000 BC

By: Steven Mithen

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After the Ice

A Global Human History, 20,000 - 5000 BC

By: Steven Mithen

A fantastic voyage through 15,000 years of history that laid the foundations for civilisation as we know it by award-winning science writer Steven Mithen. Twenty thousand years ago Earth was in the midst of an ice age. Then global warming arrived, leading to massive floods, the spread of forests and the retreat of the deserts. By 5,000 BC a radically different human world had appeared. In place of hunters and gatherers there were farmers; in place of transient campsites there were towns. The foundations of our modern world had been laid and nothing that came after - the Industrial Revolution, the atomic age, the internet - have ever matched the significance of those events. AFTER THE ICE tells the story of climate change's impact during this momentous period - one that also saw the colonisation of the Americas and mass extinctions of animals throughout the world. Drawing on the latest cutting-edge research in archaeology, cognitive science, palaeontology, geology and the evolutionary sciences, Steven Mithen creates an evocative, original and remarkably complete picture of minds, cultures, lives and landscapes through 15,000 years of history.

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Page Count

851

Publisher

Hachette UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

1780222599

ISBN 13

9781780222592

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

By: Steven Jan

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Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

By: Steven Jan

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa. Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon. A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives.

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688

Publisher

Open Book Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1800647387

ISBN 13

9781800647381

The Unification of the Arts

A Framework for Understanding What the Arts Share and Why

By: Steven Brown

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The Unification of the Arts

A Framework for Understanding What the Arts Share and Why

By: Steven Brown

What are the arts? What functions do the arts serve in human life? There has been a surge of cognitive, biological, and evolutionary interest in the arts in recent years, most of it oriented towards individual artforms. However, there has been virtually no bridging work to integrate the arts under a single theoretical perspective. This book presents the first integrated cognitive account of the arts that unites visual art, theatre, literature, dance, and music into a single framework, with supporting discussions about creativity and aesthetics. Its comparative approach identifies both what is unique to each artform and what they share, shedding light on how the arts can combine with one another to form syntheses, such as choreographing dance movements to music, or setting lyrics to music to create a song. While studies in the psychology of the arts tend to focus on perceptual processes and aesthetic responses alone, this book offers a holistic sensorimotor account that examines the full gamut of processes from creation to perception. This allows for a broad discussion of the evolution of the arts, including the origins of rhythm, the co-evolution of music and language, the evolution of drawing, and cultural evolution of the arts. Finally, the book unifies a number of topics that have not previously been fully related to one another, including theatre and literature, music and language, creativity and aesthetics, dancing and acting, and visual art and music. A unique volume providing a bold new approach to the integration of the arts, for academics or general readers of the arts, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, anthropology, and evolutionary studies.

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401

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198864876

ISBN 13

9780198864875

Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact

By: Steven J. Dick

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Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact

By: Steven J. Dick

The search for life in the universe, once the stuff of science fiction, is now a robust worldwide research program with a well-defined roadmap probing both scientific and societal issues. This volume examines the humanistic aspects of astrobiology, systematically discussing the approaches, critical issues, and implications of discovering life beyond Earth. What do the concepts of life and intelligence, culture and civilization, technology and communication mean in a cosmic context? What are the theological and philosophical implications if we find life - and if we do not? Steven J. Dick argues that given recent scientific findings, the discovery of life in some form beyond Earth is likely and so we need to study the possible impacts of such a discovery and formulate policies to deal with them. The remarkable and often surprising results are presented here in a form accessible to disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

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395

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108652913

ISBN 13

9781108652919

Emergence

The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software

By: Steven Johnson

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Emergence

The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software

By: Steven Johnson

In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications. A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web? In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.

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288

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0743218264

ISBN 13

9780743218269

China and the West to 1600

Empire, Philosophy, and the Paradox of Culture

By: Steven Wallech

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China and the West to 1600

Empire, Philosophy, and the Paradox of Culture

By: Steven Wallech

A comparative history of Chinese and Western Civilization from the dawn of agriculture to the dawn of modernity in Europe, China and the West to 1600 explores the factors that led to the divergent evolution of two major cultures of the ancient world, and considers how the subsequent developments saw one culture cling to tradition even as the other failed to do so, inadvertently setting the stage for the birth of the Modern Era. An accessible and inventive comparative history, suitable for all students at the college level as well as general readers Compares the history of Chinese civilization with Western civilization from the rise of agriculture to the dawn of the modern period Explores the ways in which Western failures in the Middle Ages after the Roman Empire’s collapse, and China’s successes in the same period, laid the groundwork for each culture’s divergent path in the modern period Makes meaningful connections between cultures and over time, through the use of themes such as agriculture, philosophy, religion, and warfare and invasion Bridges the gap between antiquity and modernity, looking at many factors of the global Middle Ages that influenced the development of the modern world Features a timeline, maps, endnotes, and complete index

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265

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1118880064

ISBN 13

9781118880067

The Evolution of Paleolithic Technologies

By: Steven L. Kuhn

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The Evolution of Paleolithic Technologies

By: Steven L. Kuhn

The Evolution of Paleolithic Technologies provides a novel perspective on long-term trajectories of evolutionary change in Paleolithic tools and tool-makers. Members of the human lineage have been producing stone tools for more than 3 million years. These artefacts provide key evidence for important evolutionary developments in hominin behaviour and cognition. Avoiding conventional approaches based on progressive stages of development, this book instead examines global trends in six separate dimensions of technological behaviour between 2.6 million and 10,000 years ago. Combining these independent trends results in both a broader and a more finely punctuated perspective on key intervals of change in hominin behaviour. To draw this picture together, the concluding section explores behavioural, cognitive, and demographic implications of developments in material culture and technological procedures at seven key intervals during the Pleistocene. Researchers interested in Paleolithic archaeology will find this book invaluable. It will also be of interest to archaeologists researching stone tool technology and to students of human evolution and behavioural change in prehistory.

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584

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317281764

ISBN 13

9781317281764

The Stuff of Thought

Language as a Window into Human Nature

By: Steven Pinker

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The Stuff of Thought

Language as a Window into Human Nature

By: Steven Pinker

This New York Times bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style and Enlightenment Now. "Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty." --The New York Times Book Review Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books - including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate - have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important popular science writers. In The Stuff of Thought, Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

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524

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101202602

ISBN 13

9781101202609

The Future of the Brain

The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience

By: Steven Peter Russell Rose

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The Future of the Brain

The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience

By: Steven Peter Russell Rose

A leading scientist offers a unique perspective on the past, present, and future of neuroscience and the brain. 40 line illustrations.

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353

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019530893X

ISBN 13

9780195308938

The Blank Slate

The Modern Denial of Human Nature

By: Steven Pinker

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The Blank Slate

The Modern Denial of Human Nature

By: Steven Pinker

A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. "Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive." --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading experts on language and the mind explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts. Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.

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532

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101200324

ISBN 13

9781101200322

Revolutions in the Desert

The Rise of Mobile Pastoralism in the Southern Levant

By: Steven Rosen

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Revolutions in the Desert

The Rise of Mobile Pastoralism in the Southern Levant

By: Steven Rosen

Multi-Resource Nomadism, Core and Periphery, and the Rise of Economic Asymmetry

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331

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1315399938

ISBN 13

9781315399935

Space, Time, and Aliens

Collected Works on Cosmos and Culture

By: Steven J. Dick

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Space, Time, and Aliens

Collected Works on Cosmos and Culture

By: Steven J. Dick

In this comprehensive and interdisciplinary volume, former NASA Chief Historian Steven Dick reflects on the exploration of space, astrobiology and its implications, cosmic evolution, astronomical institutions, discovering and classifying the cosmos, and the philosophy of astronomy. The unifying theme of the book is the connection between cosmos and culture, or what Carl Sagan many years ago called the “cosmic connection.” As both an astronomer and historian of science, Dr. Dick has been both a witness to and a participant in many of the astronomical events of the last half century. This collection of papers presents his reflections over the last forty years in a way accessible to historians, philosophers, and scientists alike. From the search for alien life to ongoing space exploration efforts, readers will find this volume full of engaging topics relevant to science, society, and our collective future on planet Earth and beyond.

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795

Publisher

Springer Nature

Published Date

ISBN 10

3030416143

ISBN 13

9783030416140

World History

A Concise Thematic Analysis, Volume 1

By: Steven Wallech,Touraj Daryaee,Craig Hendricks,Anne Lynne Negus,Peter P. Wan,Gordon Morris Bakken

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World History

A Concise Thematic Analysis, Volume 1

By: Steven Wallech,Touraj Daryaee,Craig Hendricks,Anne Lynne Negus,Peter P. Wan,Gordon Morris Bakken

World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis presents the highly anticipated second edition of the most affordable and accessible survey of world history designed for use at the college level. An engaging narrative that contextualizes history and does not drown students in a sea of facts Offers a comparative analysis of the great civilizations of Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas Addresses themes of population dynamics, food production challenges, disease history, warfare, and other major issues for civilizations Features new interior design and organization to enhance user experience Instructor’s test bank available online at www.wiley.com/go/wallech

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Page Count

434

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1118532678

ISBN 13

9781118532676

A Viking Way of Life

By: Steven P. Ashby

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A Viking Way of Life

By: Steven P. Ashby

An engaging look at life in the Viking Age.

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259

Publisher

Amberley Publishing Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1445620588

ISBN 13

9781445620589

Cortical Evolution in Primates

What Primates Are, What Primates Were, and Why the Cortex Changed

By: Steven P. Wise

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Cortical Evolution in Primates

What Primates Are, What Primates Were, and Why the Cortex Changed

By: Steven P. Wise

The book provides a stand-alone resource for neuroscience graduate students and established neuroscientists who have an interest in cortical evolution and primates.

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401

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019286839X

ISBN 13

9780192868398

The Evolutionary Road to Human Memory

By: Elisabeth A. Murray,Steven P. Wise,Mary Kelly Lorene Baldwin,Kim S. Graham

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The Evolutionary Road to Human Memory

By: Elisabeth A. Murray,Steven P. Wise,Mary Kelly Lorene Baldwin,Kim S. Graham

We tend to think about memory in terms of the human experience, neglecting the fact that we can trace a direct line of descent from the earliest vertebrates to modern humans. This book tells an intriguing story about how evolution shaped human memory.

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225

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198828055

ISBN 13

9780198828051

Ramp Hollow

The Ordeal of Appalachia

By: Steven Stoll

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Ramp Hollow

The Ordeal of Appalachia

By: Steven Stoll

How the United States underdeveloped Appalachia Appalachia—among the most storied and yet least understood regions in America—has long been associated with poverty and backwardness. But how did this image arise and what exactly does it mean? In Ramp Hollow, Steven Stoll launches an original investigation into the history of Appalachia and its place in U.S. history, with a special emphasis on how generations of its inhabitants lived, worked, survived, and depended on natural resources held in common. Ramp Hollow traces the rise of the Appalachian homestead and how its self-sufficiency resisted dependence on money and the industrial society arising elsewhere in the United States—until, beginning in the nineteenth century, extractive industries kicked off a “scramble for Appalachia” that left struggling homesteaders dispossessed of their land. As the men disappeared into coal mines and timber camps, and their families moved into shantytowns or deeper into the mountains, the commons of Appalachia were, in effect, enclosed, and the fate of the region was sealed. Ramp Hollow takes a provocative look at Appalachia, and the workings of dispossession around the world, by upending our notions about progress and development. Stoll ranges widely from literature to history to economics in order to expose a devastating process whose repercussions we still feel today.

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433

Publisher

Hill and Wang

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429946970

ISBN 13

9781429946971

Vegetable Diseases

A Colour Handbook

By: Steven T. Koike,Peter Gladders,Albert Paulus

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Vegetable Diseases

A Colour Handbook

By: Steven T. Koike,Peter Gladders,Albert Paulus

Our dependence on healthy vegetable crops as a reliable source of food transcends all barriers of nation and culture. Consumers now demand excellent quality from the industry that produces large volumes of high quality vegetables to be sold locally, regionally and shipped internationally. The diseases that affect vegetables compromise such quality

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450

Publisher

CRC Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1840765062

ISBN 13

9781840765069

Wonderland

How Play Made the Modern World

By: Steven Johnson

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Wonderland

How Play Made the Modern World

By: Steven Johnson

“A house of wonders itself. . . . Wonderland inspires grins and well-what-d'ya-knows” —The New York Times Book Review From the New York Times–bestselling author of How We Got to Now and Extra Life, a look at the world-changing innovations we made while keeping ourselves entertained. This lushly illustrated history of popular entertainment takes a long-zoom approach, contending that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Steven Johnson argues that, throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused. Johnson’s storytelling is just as delightful as the inventions he describes, full of surprising stops along the journey from simple concepts to complex modern systems. He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows. In Wonderland, Johnson compellingly argues that observers of technological and social trends should be looking for clues in novel amusements. You’ll find the future wherever people are having the most fun.

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338

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Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0399184503

ISBN 13

9780399184505

The Evolution of Memory Systems

Ancestors, Anatomy, and Adaptations

By: Elisabeth A. Murray,Steven P. Wise,Kim S. Graham

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The Evolution of Memory Systems

Ancestors, Anatomy, and Adaptations

By: Elisabeth A. Murray,Steven P. Wise,Kim S. Graham

Current theories about human memory have been shaped by clinical observations and animal experiments. This doctrine holds that the medial temporal lobe subserves one memory system for explicit or declarative memories, while the basal ganglia subserves a separate memory system for implicit or procedural memories, including habits. Cortical areas outside the medial temporal lobe are said to function in perception, motor control, attention, or other aspects of executive function, but not in memory. 'The Evolution of Memory Systems' advances dramatically different ideas on all counts. It proposes that several memory systems arose during evolution and that they did so for the same general reason: to transcend problems and exploit opportunities encountered by specific ancestors at particular times and places in the distant past. Instead of classifying cortical areas in terms of mutually exclusive perception, executive, or memory functions, the authors show that all cortical areas contribute to memory and that they do so in their own ways-using specialized neural representations. The book also presents a proposal on the evolution of explicit memory. According to this idea, explicit (declarative) memory depends on interactions between a phylogenetically ancient navigation system and a representational system that evolved in humans to represent one's self and others. As a result, people embed representations of themselves into the events they experience and the facts they learn, which leads to the perception of participating in events and knowing facts. 'The Evolution of Memory Systems' is an important new work for students and researchers in neuroscience, psychology, and biology.

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644

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191509965

ISBN 13

9780191509964

Phylogeny and Evolution of the Angiosperms

By: Douglas Soltis,Pamela Soltis,Peter Endress,Mark Chase,Steven Manchester,Walter Judd,Lucas Majure,Evgeny Mavrodiev

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Phylogeny and Evolution of the Angiosperms

By: Douglas Soltis,Pamela Soltis,Peter Endress,Mark Chase,Steven Manchester,Walter Judd,Lucas Majure,Evgeny Mavrodiev

Although they are relative latecomers on the evolutionary scene, having emerged only 135?170 million years ago, angiosperms—or flowering plants—are the most diverse and species-rich group of seed-producing land plants, comprising more than 15,000 genera and over 350,000 species. Not only are they a model group for studying the patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification, they also play major roles in our economy, diet, and courtship rituals, producing our fruits, legumes, and grains, not to mention the flowers in our Valentine’s bouquets. They are also crucial ecologically, dominating most terrestrial and some aquatic landscapes. This fully revised edition of Phylogeny and Evolution of the Angiosperms provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the evolution of and relationships among these vital plants. Incorporating molecular phylogenetics with morphological, chemical, developmental, and paleobotanical data, as well as presenting a more detailed account of early angiosperm fossils and important fossil information for each evolutionary branch of the angiosperms, the new edition integrates fossil evidence into a robust phylogenetic framework. Featuring a wealth of new color images, this highly synthetic work further reevaluates long-held evolutionary hypotheses related to flowering plants and will be an essential reference for botanists, plant systematists, and evolutionary biologists alike.

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587

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022644175X

ISBN 13

9780226441757

Psychology and Life

By: Richard J Gerrig,Philip G Zimbardo,Andrew J Campbell,Steven R Cumming,Fiona J Wilkes

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Psychology and Life

By: Richard J Gerrig,Philip G Zimbardo,Andrew J Campbell,Steven R Cumming,Fiona J Wilkes

Bringing the science of psychology to life! The 2nd Australasian edition of Psychology and Life emphasises the science of psychology, with a special focus on applying that science to students’ everyday lives. As a result, the features of Psychology and Life support a central theme: psychology as a science, with a focus on applying that science to real life experiences. Australasian research, examples and statistics help make the theory even more relevant for today’s students. Psychology and Life 2e provides a rigorous, research-centred survey of the discipline while offering students special features and learning aids that will make the science of psychology relevant, spark their interest and excite their imaginations.

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Page Count

750

Publisher

Pearson Higher Education AU

Published Date

ISBN 10

1442551909

ISBN 13

9781442551909

Thoughtful Foragers

A Study of Prehistoric Decision Making

By: Steven J. Mithen

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Thoughtful Foragers

A Study of Prehistoric Decision Making

By: Steven J. Mithen

Thoughtful Foragers is about hunter-gatherer decision making. The author explores the implications of the human mind as a product of biological evolution for the way in which humans solve foraging problems. He draws on studies form ethology, psychology and ethnography prior to turning his attention to prehistoric hunter-gatherers. He attempts to construct explanations for patterns in the archaeological record by an explicit focus on decision making by individuals. Thoughtful Foragers will appeal to specialists in European prehistory as well as to those interested in archaeological theory and method. It makes some very significant advances, which will be of real importance for the field of evolutionary theory in relation to human evolution and the evaluation of human social systems.

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Page Count

314

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521355702

ISBN 13

9780521355704

How the Mind Works

By: Steven Pinker

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How the Mind Works

By: Steven Pinker

A model of scientific writing: erudite, witty, and clear." —New York Review of Books In this Pulitzer Prize finalist and national bestseller, one of the world's leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness? How the Mind Works synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and other fields to explain what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and contemplate the mysteries of life. This edition of Pinker's bold and buoyant classic is updated with a new foreword by the author.

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Page Count

672

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0393069737

ISBN 13

9780393069730

Mind Wide Open

Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life

By: Steven Johnson

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Mind Wide Open

Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life

By: Steven Johnson

BRILLIANTLY EXPLORING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN RESEARCH, MIND WIDE OPEN IS AN UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY, ALLOWING READERS TO UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES AS NEVER BEFORE. Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works -- its chemicals, structures, and subroutines -- and how these systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives. For a hundred years, he says, many of us have assumed that the most powerful route to self-knowledge took the form of lying on a couch, talking about our childhoods. The possibility entertained in this book is that you can follow another path, in which learning about the brain's mechanics can widen one's self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug. In Mind Wide Open, Johnson embarks on this path as his own test subject, participating in a battery of attention tests, learning to control video games by altering his brain waves, scanning his own brain with a $2 million fMRI machine, all in search of a modern answer to the oldest of questions: who am I? Along the way, Johnson explores how we "read" other people, how the brain processes frightening events (and how we might rid ourselves of the scars those memories leave), what the neurochemistry is behind love and sex, what it means that our brains are teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs, why music moves us to tears, and where our breakthrough ideas come from. Johnson's clear, engaging explanation of the physical functions of the brain reveals not only the broad strokes of our aptitudes and fears, our skills and weaknesses and desires, but also the momentary brain phenomena that a whole human life comprises. Why, when hearing a tale of woe, do we sometimes smile inappropriately, even if we don't want to? Why are some of us so bad at remembering phone numbers but brilliant at recognizing faces? Why does depression make us feel stupid? To read Mind Wide Open is to rethink family histories, individual fates, and the very nature of the self, and to see that brain science is now personally transformative -- a valuable tool for better relationships and better living.

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Page Count

289

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0743258797

ISBN 13

9780743258791

Rattling The Cage

Toward Legal Rights For Animals

By: Steven M. Wise

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Rattling The Cage

Toward Legal Rights For Animals

By: Steven M. Wise

Rattling the Cage explains how the failure to recognize the basic legal rights of chimpanzees and bonobos in light of modern scientific findings creates a glaring contradiction in our law. In this witty, moving, persuasive, and impeccably researched argument, Wise demonstrates that the cognitive, emotional, and social capacities of these apes entitle them to freedom from imprisonment and abuse.

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393

Publisher

Hachette+ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

0306824000

ISBN 13

9780306824005

The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan

Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and Al Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site of WF16

By: Bill Finlayson,Steven Mithen

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The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan

Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and Al Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site of WF16

By: Bill Finlayson,Steven Mithen

This edited volume provides a full report on the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site of WF16, southern Jordan. Very few sites of PPNA date have been excavated using modern methods, so this report makes a very significant contribution to our understanding of this period. Excavations have shown that the site contains a highly dynamic use of architecture, and the faunal assemblage reveals new information on the processes that lead to the domestication of the goat.

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Page Count

927

Publisher

Oxbow Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1782975055

ISBN 13

9781782975052

Book's by Steven Mithen

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