Second Nature
Economic Origins of Human Evolution
$77.99 (P)
- Author: Haim Ofek, State University of New York, Binghamton
- Date Published: November 2001
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521625340
$
77.99
(P)
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an examination copy?
If you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.
-
This book spans two million years of human evolution and explores the impact of economics on human evolution and natural history. The theory of evolution by natural selection has always relied in part on progress in areas of science outside of biology. By applying economic principles at the borderlines of biology, Haim Ofek shows how some of the outstanding issues in human evolution, such as the increase in human brain size and the expansion of the environmental niche humans occupied, can be answered. He identifies distinct economic forces at work, beginning with the transition from the feed-as-you-go strategy of primates, through hunter-gathering and the domestication of fire to the development of agriculture. This highly readable book will inform and intrigue general readers and those in fields such as evolutionary biology and psychology, economics, and anthropology.
Read more- Readable and highly interesting account of how market forces may have played a major role in human evolution
- Shows how the uniquely human characteristic of trading with non-related others has shaped our destiny
- Will appeal both to general readers and those from backgrounds in economics, anthropology or evolutionary biology and psychology
Reviews & endorsements
"Ofek's book is in fact remarkable because it gives interesting, exhausting and insightful answers to old problems and, at the same time, it provides a new way to approach human evolution from the economic viewpoint. I hope it will stimulate the research on the economics of prehistory." Economic History Network
See more reviews"...the boldness, coherence, and sweep of the book are impressive...Ofek has good and highly persuasive ideas about his main concern, which is the importance and centrality of economic analysis from an early point in human evolution...Second Nature is an exhilarating and interesting read that raises powerful questions about how humans got here and how we should be studied." Science
"...Ofek's book is in fact remarkable because it gives interesting, exhausting and insightful answers to old problems and, at the same time, it provides a new way to approach human evolution from the economic viewpoint." Joao Ricardo Faria, EH.NET
"Ofek makes several interesting connections between economics and biology." Nature
"Ofek sythesizes an enourmous range of research on human origins to advance to key role of exchange of goods and services in the evolution of distinctively human species.... This superb book seems poised to be a touchstone for work in prehistory and human origins for the forseeable future; essential for all academic libraries; highly recommended for others." Choice
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: November 2001
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521625340
- length: 268 pages
- dimensions: 228 x 153 x 16 mm
- weight: 0.452kg
- contains: 15 b/w illus. 1 table
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I. Bioeconomics:
2. Exchange in human and nonhuman societies
3. Classical economics and classical Darwinism
4. Evolutionary implications of division of labour
5. The feeding ecology
6. The origins of nepotistic exchange
7. Baboon speciation versus human specialization
Part II. Paleoeconomics:
8. Departure from the feed-as-you-go strategy
9. The origins of market exchange
10. Domestication of fire in relation to market exchange
11. The Upper Paleolithic and other creative explosions
12. Transition to agriculture: the limiting factor
13. Transition to agriculture: the facilitating factor
References
Index.
Related Books
related journals
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×