The Origins of Modern Humans

by Fred H. Smith, James C. Ahern

2013 · John Wiley & Sons

This update to the award-winning The Origins of Modern Humans: A World Survey of the Fossil Evidence covers the most accepted common theories concerning the emergence of modern Homo sapiens adding fresh insight from top young scholars on the key new discoveries of the past 25 years. The Origins of Modern Humans: Biology Reconsidered allows field leaders to discuss and assess the assemblage of hominid fossil material in each region of the world during the Pleistocene epoch. It features new fossil and molecular evidence, such as the evolutionary inferences drawn from assessments of modern humans and large segments of the Neandertal genome. It also addresses the impact of digital imagery and the more sophisticated morphometrics that have entered the analytical fray since 1984. Beginning with a thoughtful introduction by the authors on modern human origins, the book offers such insightful chapter contributions as: Africa: The Cradle of Modern People Crossroads of the Old World: Late Hominin Evolution in Western Asia A River Runs through It: Modern Human Origins in East Asia Perspectives on the Origins of Modern Australians Modern Human Origins in Central Europe The Makers of the Early Upper Paleolithic in Western Eurasia Neandertal Craniofacial Growth and Development and Its Relevance for Modern Human Origins Energetics and the Origin of Modern Humans Understanding Human Cranial Variation in Light of Modern Human Origins The Relevance of Archaic Genomes to Modern Human Origins The Process of Modern Human Origins: The Evolutionary and Demographic Changes Giving Rise to Modern Humans The Paleobiology of Modern Human Emergence Elegant and thought provoking, The Origins of Modern Humans: Biology Reconsidered is an ideal read for students, grad students, and professionals in human evolution and paleoanthropology.

Circulatory Response to the Upright Posture

by James J. Smith

1990 · CRC Press

This is the only up-to-date systematic review of normal human response to upright posture and lower body negative pressure (LBNP). It analyzes the key factors that influence postural tolerance, such as physical fitness, weightlessness, age, and sex. It also provides extensive details on the circulatory changes that have occurred during U.S. and Soviet manned space flights. The text is brilliantly illustrated with diagrams, tables, and comments on circulatory methods. Readers will discover some information which has never before been published. This one-of-a-kind volume also reviews the diagnosis and treatment of orthostatic hypotension-an extremely common orthostatic disorder. Circulatory Response to the Upright Posture is the first available literature since 1982 of human physiological and pathophysiological aspects of postural tolerance. A wide variety of readers will find this title interesting and of value. Circulatory physiologists, cardiologists, and everyone with an interest in exercise physiology, aging, space physiology, and environmental physiology will especially benefit from this writing.