The Paleoanthropology of Eastern Asia / / Christopher J. Bae.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Hawaii Press Complete eBook-Package 2024
• VerfasserIn: Bae, Christopher J.,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [2024]; ©2024
• Year of Publication: 2024
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (296 p.) :; 87 color illustrations

Research in human evolution in Asia has long been thought to lag far behind similar research in Africa and Europe. However, the limited dissemination of findings is often to blame, rather than a lack of scholarship. The Paleoanthropology of Eastern Asia attempts to rectify this misconception by synthesizing research on human evolution in eastern Asia into a single authoritative and definitive text. Covering the span of time from more than two million years ago to the end of the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago, this book examines key events, such as the arrival of the earliest hominins in eastern Asia and the evolution and interaction of various hominin species, including Homo erectus, Homo sapiens, and and a few more in between.While fossils reveal what these hominins may have looked like, the rich Paleolithic archaeological record yields insights into their behavior: Hand axes have been found in eastern Asia where they were previously believed to have been absent. Watercraft was used by foragers as early as 40,000 years ago to voyage to the Japanese archipelago. In Indonesia, cave art paintings older than those from the Lascaux caves in France have been reported. Such new and important discoveries continue to emerge. Providing comprehensive coverage of paleoanthropological research in eastern Asia—from the groundbreaking finds in a cave near Beijing in the early twentieth century to the discovery and identification of new human species during the twenty-first century—this book will captivate anyone interested in the human evolutionary record.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- PROLOGUE -- 1. Brief History of Paleoanthropological Research in Eastern Asia -- 2. Geography, Environment, and Quaternary Paleoenvironment -- 3. Early Arrivals to Eastern Asia: Who, What, Where? (~2.4 Ma–~0.4 Ma) -- 4. The “Muddle in the Middle” (~400 ka–~100 ka) -- 5. Modern Human Origins (~100 ka–~30 ka) -- 6. The Appearance of Modern Human Foragers (~30 ka–~15 ka -- 7. Final Thoughts . . . -- Works Cited -- Index -- ABOUT THE AUTHOR