Man the Hunted by Donna Hart &Robert W. Sussman
TITLE: Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators, and Human Evolution
AUTHOR: Donna Hart, Robert W. Sussman
PUBLICATION DATE: 2008 (Expanded Edition)
FORMAT: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780813344034
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DESCRIPTION:
"Man the Hunted argues that primates, including the earliest members of the human family, have evolved as the prey of any number of predators, including wild cats and dogs, hyenas, snakes, crocodiles, and even birds. The authors’ studies of predators on monkeys and apes are supplemented here with the observations of naturalists in the field and revealing interpretations of the fossil record. Eyewitness accounts of the “man the hunted” drama being played out even now give vivid evidence of its prehistoric significance.This provocative view of human evolution suggests that countless adaptations that have allowed our species to survive—from larger brains to speech—stem from a considerably more vulnerable position on the food chain than we might like to imagine. The myth of early humans as fearless hunters dominating the earth obscures our origins as just one of many species that had to be cautious, depend on other group members, communicate danger, and come to terms with being merely one cog in the complex cycle of life.
The expanded edition includes a new chapter that describes the ever-increasing evidence of predation on humans and other primates and claims that the earliest humans were neither hunters nor even the accomplished scavengers that many authorities have claimed."
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REVIEW:
Man the Hunted is an anthropology book written in a plain and easy to read manner. The authors make use of the fossil record and studies on modern day primate predation on primates (including humans), to argue that man as prey rather man as predator drove human evolution. The majority of the book takes a look at the variety of past and present predators that ate/eat primates, including large cats, wolves, hyenas, raptors, snakes, crocodiles etc. An interesting and informative read.
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