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No two people are the same, and no two groups of people are the same. But what kinds of differences are there, and what do they mean? What does our DNA say about race, gender, equality, or ancestry? Drawing on the latest discoveries in anthropology and human genetics, Understanding Human Diversity looks at scientific realities and pseudoscientific myths about the patterns of diversity in our species, challenging common misconceptions about genetics, race, and evolution and their role in shaping human life today. By examining nine counterexamples drawn from popular scientific ideas, that is to say, examinations of what we are not, this book leads the reader to an appreciation of what we are. We are hybrids with often inseparable natural and cultural aspects, formed of natural and cultural histories, and evolved from remote ape and recent human ancestors. This book is a must for anyone curious about human genetics, human evolution, and human diversity.
Edited by
Jeremy Koster, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig,Brooke Scelza, University of California, Los Angeles,Mary K. Shenk, Pennsylvania State University
Human behavioral ecology traditionally examines ultimate questions while “black boxing” physiological mechanisms and modes of inheritance. This chapter addresses how the intersection between human biology and behavioral ecology allows researchers to open these black boxes and how an examination of mechanisms can help to answer ultimate questions. First, the chapter discusses how physiological systems are intertwined with behavioral ones through chemical messengers, such as hormones, which broadcast information throughout the organism and coordinate actions inside the body with those outside the body. Next, the chapter looks inside the “black box of inheritance” to consider how mechanisms of inheritance beyond genes and culture, such as epigenetic inheritance, are relevant for behavioral ecology. The chapter concludes by discussing how studies of biology and behavioral ecology can complement and inform one another, leading to general insights that would be missed if both biology and behavior had not been considered in concert.
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