Early Human Behaviour in Global Context: The Rise and Diversity of the Lower Palaeolithic Record(One World Archaeology)

Archaeological traces of the activities of our early tool using ancestors are spread throughout the Old World. While material evidence is plentiful, we still know very little about the particular behaviours which resulted in their creation. Early Human Behaviour in Global Context contributes greatly to the huge gap in knowledge about how our ancestors led their lives. An international group of scholars in the field present the latest results of investigations on the Lower Palaeolithic. Chapters focus on the nature of archaeological evidence, stone tool technology, subsistence practices and settlement distribution, offering interpretations of palaeoeconomic organisations, adaptive variations and evolutionary processes. Early Human Behaviour in Global Context begins with the identification and interpretation of the earliest archaeological evidence in Africa, usually found as juxtapositions of stone tools in various geological and ecological settings. Chapters then document the material record found in the Near East, Asia and Europe, providing evidence for the migration of early humans out of Africa and into other parts of the Old World. Syntheses of regional archaeological records admit interpretations of the activities of our early human ancestors, and inter-regional comparisons set the stage for study of similarities and differences in adaptive responses. Early Human Behaviour in Global Context is the basic reference text for students and professionals interested in prehistory, Palaeolithic archaeolgoy and palaeoanthropology, our ancestors and their place in the natural world. Ofer Bar-Yosef, Harvard University, USA. Susan Cachel,Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. J.Desmond Clark, University of California, Berkley, USA. Gudrun Corvinus

Table of Contents:
List of contributors. Preface Michael D. Petraglia and Ravi Korisettar 1. The Archaeology of the Lower Palaeolithic: background and overview Ravi Korisettar and Michael D. Petraglia 2. Techniques for the Chronometry of the Palaeolithic: evidence for global colonization Ashok K Singhvi, Gunther A. Wagner and Ravi Korisettar 3. Towards a Technological Reassessment of East African Plio-Pleistocene Lithic Assemblages Brian V. Ludwig and J. W. K. Harris 4. The Lifeways of Homo erectus inferred from Archaeology and Evolutionary Ecology: a perspective from East Africa Susan Cachel and J. W. K. Harris 5. Raw Material as evidence for Human Behaviour in the Lower Pleistocene: the Olduvai case Daniel Stiles 6. The Earliest South African Industries Kathleen Kuman 7. The Lower Palaeolithic Settlement of Eurasia, with special reference to Europe Nicolas Rolland 8. Early Colonizations and Cultural Continuities in the Lower Palaeolithic of Western Asia Ofer Bar-Yosef 9. Grasslands, Tool-making and the Hominid Colonization of Southern Asia: a reconsideration Robin W. Dennell 10. Quaternary Stratigraphy, Palaeoclimate and the Lower Palaeolithic of India Ravi Koriisettar and S. N. Rajaguru 11. The Lower Palaeolithic of India and its bearing on the Asian record Michael D. Petraglia 12. Lower Palaeolithic Occupations in Nepal in relation to South Asia Gudrun Corvinus 13. Early Palaeolithic Quartz Industries in China Jian Leng 14. The Earlier Palaeolithic of the Eastern Region of the Old World in comparison to the West J Desmond Clark 15. Concluding Remarks: archaeology's fifth big question Clive Gamble

About the Author :
Michael D. Petraglia is Research Associate in the Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, and Director of the Cultural Resources Program at Parsons, an international environmental firm. Ravi Korisettar is Reader in History and Archaeology at Karnatak Unviersity, India.

Review :

'The book is intended to be the basic reference text for students and academics interested in prehistory, palaeolithic archaeology and palaeoanthropology.' - Oxon Book Review