What Does it Mean to be Human?

What Does it Mean to be Human? PDF Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426206062
Category : Human beings
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species' physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes. In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic's paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth's environmental history. The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall's displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.

What Does it Mean to be Human?

What Does it Mean to be Human? PDF Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426206062
Category : Human beings
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book Here

Book Description
This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species' physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes. In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic's paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth's environmental history. The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall's displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.

Ainu

Ainu PDF Author: William W. Fitzhugh
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
"Some 55 scholars, mostly Japanese but with a considerable number from the US and Europe, write about the ethnicity, theories of origin, history, economies, art, religious beliefs, mythology, and other aspects of the culture of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, now principally found in Hokkaido and smaller far northern islands. Hundreds of photographs and paintings, mostly in excellent quality color, show a wide variety of Ainu people, as well as clothing, jewelry, and various artifacts."--"Choice". "The most in-depth treatise available on Ainu prehistory, material culture, and ethnohistory." - "Library Journal".--Amazon.com (2001 ed, book description).

Contributions to North American Ethnology

Contributions to North American Ethnology PDF Author: John Wesley Powell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ethnology
Languages : en
Pages : 734

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Book Description


Sharing Our Knowledge

Sharing Our Knowledge PDF Author: Sergei Kan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803240562
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 541

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Book Description
"An edited volume of interdisciplinary, collaborative research on Tlingit culture, language, and history"--

William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History

William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History PDF Author: Ronald Scott Vasile
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
ISBN: 1501758128
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
William Stimpson was at the forefront of the American natural history community in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Stimpson displayed an early affinity for the sea and natural history, and after completing an apprenticeship with famed naturalist Louis Agassiz, he became one of the first professionally trained naturalists in the United States. In 1852, twenty-year-old Stimpson was appointed naturalist of the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition, where he collected and classified hundreds of marine animals. Upon his return, he joined renowned naturalist Spencer F. Baird at the Smithsonian Institution to create its department of invertebrate zoology. He also founded and led the irreverent and fun-loving Megatherium Club, which included many notable naturalists. In 1865, Stimpson focused on turning the Chicago Academy of Sciences into one of the largest and most important museums in the country. Tragically, the museum was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and Stimpson died of tuberculosis soon after, before he could restore his scientific legacy. This first-ever biography of William Stimpson situates his work in the context of his time. As one of few to collaborate with both Agassiz and Baird, Stimpson's life provides insight into the men who shaped a generation of naturalists--the last before intense specialization caused naturalists to give way to biologists. Historians of science and general readers interested in biographies, science, and history will enjoy this compelling biography.

Gateways

Gateways PDF Author: Igor Krupnik
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
ISBN:
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This book documents the L. M. Waugh collection of early 19th century photographs of Yupik people from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, with identifications and commentary by their modern descendants.

Exchanging Objects

Exchanging Objects PDF Author: Catherine A. Nichols
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1800730535
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
As an historical account of the exchange of “duplicate specimens” between anthropologists at the Smithsonian Institution and museums, collectors, and schools around the world in the late nineteenth century, this book reveals connections between both well-known museums and little-known local institutions, created through the exchange of museum objects. It explores how anthropologists categorized some objects in their collections as “duplicate specimens,” making them potential candidates for exchange. This historical form of what museum professionals would now call deaccessioning considers the intellectual and technical requirement of classifying objects in museums, and suggests that a deeper understanding of past museum practice can inform mission-driven contemporary museum work.

Woodland Period Systematics in the Middle Ohio Valley

Woodland Period Systematics in the Middle Ohio Valley PDF Author: Darlene Applegate
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817352376
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This collection provides a comprehensive vocabulary for defining the cultural manifestation of the term “Woodland” The Middle Ohio Valley is an archaeologically rich region that stretches from southeastern Indiana, across southern Ohio and northeastern Kentucky, and into northwestern West Virginia. In this area are some of the most spectacular and diverse Woodland Period archaeological sites in North America, but these sites and their rich cultural remains do not fit easily into the traditional Southeastern classification system. This volume, with contributions by most of the senior researchers in the field, represents an important step toward establishing terminology and taxa that are more appropriate to interpreting cultural diversity in the region. The important questions are diverse. What criteria are useful in defining periods and cultural types, and over what spatial and temporal boundaries do those criteria hold? How can we accommodate regional variation in the development and expression of traits used to delineate periods and cultural types? How does the concept of tradition relate to periods and cultural types? Is it prudent to equate culture types with periods? Is it prudent to equate archaeological cultures with ethnographic cultures? How does the available taxonomy hinder research? Contributing authors address these issues and others in the context of their Middle Ohio Valley Woodland Period research

Taymyr

Taymyr PDF Author: Leonid Pavlovich Khlobystin
Publisher: Alaska Smithsonian Institute Arctic
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book by the famous Soviet archaeologist Leonid Khlobystin, describes discoveries that led to a 6,000 year culture history for the Russian High Arctic.

Inua

Inua PDF Author: William W. Fitzhugh
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Published for the National Museum of Natural History by the Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Book to accompany an exhibition of Bering Sea Eskimo art collected by Edward William Nelson and now housed in the Dept. of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Places their life in a regional and chronological framework.