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Bezig met laden... HOMO BRITANNICUS: The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain (origineel 2006; editie 2006)door Chris Stringer
Informatie over het werkHomo Britannicus : The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain door Chris Stringer (2006)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. You can't go wrong with a book that introduces you to the vole clck. ( ) Fascinating story but a bit drily told. The most engaging was an account of climate change towards the end of the book, even though only tangential to the main thrust, and might have made more sense as an introductory background. Intriguing fact that Homo has come and gone here many times over the course of time This book introduces the reader to the science behind the early human habitation of Britain by putting the people into their individual contexts of climate and the depending geography, fauna and flora. It gives a clear and detailed account of the various schools of thought that prevailed at one time or another and introduces us to human evolution through fossilised human remains and the development of hand tools, as well as the science behind understanding ice ages and interglacials. The language is not too scientific and easily understandable to the layman, just once or twice later on in the book he succumbs to the temptation of name-dropping a specific scientific term without further explanation. The illustrations, maps and photographs are first class and go some way towards providing the reader with a clear understanding of what this book is all about, so I would always prefer the hardcover edition to the paperback. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that the last chapter (about future climate change) seems a bit out of place in a book about palaeontology; he does have a point in that humankind has always been very vulnerable to climate change, be it for better or worse, but to devote an entire chapter to it in which he is speculating and appears to be sermonising, is simply not in line with the rest of the book which is solidly grounded in scientific fact. In the appendix we have an opportunity to meet the core members of AHOB as well as one of their associate members and it was great to read about their obvious enthusiasm and their various and diverse backgrounds that come together to make this project so successful, but to have 25 pages of it was stretching my patience a little bit. On the whole, a very worthwhile book and excellent introduction to a fascinating subject that whets the appetite for more. This is a very readable and interesting account of how climate change affected successive waves of immigration into Britain by early humans over the last 800,000 years or so. I was however somewhat dismayed to find the last chapter devoted entirely to an admonitary account of global warning - complete with a knee-jerk "liberal" jab at George Bush. My negative reaction is not because I have any doubts about the reality of global warning; it is because I find this type of scientific/political "crossover" to be inappropriate and dishonest in a book that purports to be purely scientific. The author has as much right to political advocacy as anyone, but not - in my view - in a book subtitled " The incredible story of human life in Britain"
The disappearance of the Neanderthals is a crucial point, it should be noted, for as Chris Stringer makes clear in Homo Britannicus, a first-class, vivid account of the evolution of 'British Man', the occupation of the British Isles has been characterised not by a steady influx of settlers and prehistoric asylum seekers, but by sporadic visits, temporary occupations and long absences.
Homo Britannicustells the epic history of life in Britain, from man's very first footsteps to the present day. Drawing on all the latest evidence and techniques of investigation, Chris Stringer describes times when Britain was so tropical that man lived alongside hippos and sabre tooth tiger, times so cold we shared this land with reindeer and mammoth, and times colder still when we were forced to flee altogether. This is the first time we have known the full extent of this history- the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, led by Chris, has made discoveries that have stunned the world, pushing back the earliest date of arrival to 700,000 years ago. Our ancestors have been fighting a dramatic battle for survival here ever since. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)599.9380941Natural sciences and mathematics Zoology Mammals Humans Genetics, evolution, development EvolutionLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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