Product Description: Book by Classen, Henri Jm, Smith, M Estellie, Van De Velde, Pieter

Product Description: NY 1985 1st Columbia University. 8vo., 242pp., index, hardcover. Fine in VG DJ.

Essays discuss the origins of the sexual division of labor, the role of women in ancient societies, and the nature of slavery

(view table of contents)

"Human Societies" differs from most texts written for the introductory sociology course, being neither a survey of contemporary Americana society nor an eclectic, encyclopedia-like collection of topics, perspectives, and conflicting theories. Taking a macrosociological, global approach, it offers an introduction to sociology that is truly comparative, cross-cultural, and historical. It compares societies over time and across environments, emphasizing the dynamics of social change. Its clearly developed ecological-evolutionary perspective provides a powerful theoretical framework for understanding the array of social arrangements found in human societies over the past 100,000 years. Since industrial societies are encountered only after this theoretical base has been firmly established and older, simpler, and smaller societies have been examined in detail, students see their own society (and other contemporary societies) in a broader and more meaningful way. By showing how social arrangements are related to the environmental and technological context societies are situated in, it encourages students to look for the reasons why social arrangements are the way they are, and why they change over time.

This text provides technical information on the development of the telephone and telephone systems spanning 120 years. It covers the operating principles of complete telephone circuits, original and antique telephone schematic diagrams, and little-known historical facts.

Uses neo-Darwinian evolutionary ideas to explore the history of human populations and the origins of, and changes to, their cultural traditions. (view table of contents)

In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease?   Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today.   But the Ehrlichs also explore the flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy. The threats of environmental damage are clear from the daily headlines, but the outcome is far from destined. Humanity can again adapt—if we learn from our evolutionary past.   Those lessons are crystallized in The Dominant Animal. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future.

Product Description: We are living through a unique moment of transition, marked by a frenetic cycle of invention, construction, consumption and destruction. However, there is more to this transition than globalization, argue the authors of this unique and penetrating study...read more

Product Description: Culture is a uniquely human property. Although precursors to cultural practices are found in other animals, these precursors differ in kind from the conditions of human culture that have emerged through evolutionary processes. In order to illuminate the mutual dependence of biological-genetic and cultural evolution, the author investigates technology and the use of tools, as well as the way these abilities are transmitted, in order to understand what properties and abilities separate human beings from animals...read more

Product Description: This is the first single book to document the evolution in human thinking from a belief in supernaturalism to a belief in naturalism. The author shows how the ideas that people have held through the centuries about the world have developed from human experience - particularly during the last four hundred years - to the point today where, for the first time in human history, we see scientists in whom a belief in naturalism is complete and all-encompassing...read more

Culture is a uniquely human property. Although precursors to cultural practices are found in other animals, these precursors differ in kind from the conditions of human culture that have emerged through evolutionary processes. In order to illuminate the mutual dependence of biological-genetic and cultural evolution, the author investigates technology and the use of tools, as well as the way these abilities are transmitted, in order to understand what properties and abilities separate human beings from animals.

Product Description: This volume is the result of a research project entitled “Evolutionary Continuity – Human Specifics – The Possibility of Objective Knowledge” that was carried out by representatives of six academic disciplines (evolutionary biology, evolutionary anthropology, brain research, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology and philosophy) over a period of three and a half years...read more

How do the world′s societies differ from each other? What were the reasons for change in the past, and do they help us in predicting change in the future? This stimulating text encourages students to ask these and other questions. Daniel Chirot explains how states and agriculture combined to create the world′s classic civilizations. He shows how the UK, a marginal agrarian civilization on the edge of Europe, produced through the last two sections delineate the chronic unsolved problems of the modern era, develop a simplified model of how societies work and how the study of social change can contribute to the resolution of societies′ most important problems.

Product Description: This advanced undergraduate textbook fills a need in the field of culture and cognition. It bridges the gap between, on the one hand, lower level summaries of empirical research on the relations between culture and psychology and, on the other hand, theory-laden academic monographs with a more limited empirical range...read more