Landscapes of Human Evolution (PDF)

Landscapes of Human Evolution is an edited volume in honour of John Gowlett. John has a wide range of research interests primarily focused on the human genus Homo, and is a world leader in understanding the cognitive and behavioural preconditions necessary for the emergence of complex behaviours such as language and art. John is also a leader in investigating the early history of fire use and control in relation to social action and hominin communication. Landscapes of Human Evolution seeks to mirror John's research profile and explores some of the most recent thinking regarding human evolution from the biological and cognitive development of our human ancestors, to the behavioural adaptations necessary to survive changing Pleistocene landscapes and environments. Specifically, Landscapes of Human Evolution focuses on the development of large hominin brains and bipedal locomotion; hominin interactions with landscape; and the amplification of complex hominin behaviours and social structures from the control of fire through to changing lithic technologies. Such an overview of the development of human ancestral species from a biological, cognitive, social, and behavioural perspective is particularly timely given the many recent advances in our understanding of the complexities of human evolution.