Human Biology

A comprehensive, expert-guided introduction to human biological study Human biology attempts to understand the extent of human biological variability, explain the mechanisms that create and pattern this variability, and relate it to health, disease, and the social issues that concern us all. A collaborative effort by members of the Human Biology Association, Human Biology: An Evolutionary and Biocultural Perspective, Second Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to all the major areas of human biology: genetic variation, variation related to climate, infectious and non-infectious diseases, aging, growth, nutrition, and demography. Extensively rewritten by chapter authors in close collaboration with the volume editors for consistent style and format, this newly updated edition explores variation through space and time from an evolutionary perspective and examines the effect of human culture on our biology. This Second Edition features: Comprehensively revised and newly illustrated content An increased emphasis on the ties between culture and human biology and on the increasingly multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the field Pedagogical aids, including text boxes within the chapters explaining the methods that human biologists use, Big Questions lists, and recommended readings With sections covering heredity and patterned human variation; human adaptability; human biology and health; the human life course; and population dynamics, this extensive guide to human biology is an essential resource for all professionals and academics in the fields of human biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and population biology.