Functional inference in paleoanthropology theory and practice / David J. Daegling.

Author/creator Daegling, David J., 1960-
Format Electronic
Publication InfoBaltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2022]
Descriptionxii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Supplemental ContentFull text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost
Subjects
Paleoanthropology.

Contents Preface -- Unresolved problems in human evolution -- Situating functional morphology in evolutionary biology -- Defining adaptation : essential or esoteric? -- Repackaging the enterprise -- Form versus function : the question of primacy -- The formalization of structuralism -- Paleobiology and uniformitarian principles -- Allometry as explanation -- Total morphological pattern -- Developmental perspectives on bone morphology -- The Mechanostat -- Mechanobiology -- Interpreting bone morphology through phenotypic plasticity -- Teleonomy reexamined -- Form versus function : philosophically trivial or pragmatically crucial? -- Approaches to functional inference in paleoanthropology -- The great escape hatch : more fossils will fix everything -- Does the general approach matter? -- Multiscalar approaches to functional inference -- The comparative calculus -- Rules of engagements -- Is process discoverable via pattern? -- The paradigm method -- Analogy -- Phylogenetic brackets -- Biomechanical reduction -- Morphogenesis through mechanobiology -- The Law of the Hammer -- The relationship of method to theory -- Bipedality -- The ecological question -- The energetics question -- The precursor question -- Same fossils, different functions : compromise versus efficiency -- The pedal rays -- The innominate -- Limb proportions -- The glenoid-bar angle -- The femoral neck -- Who does one believe? -- Hominin dietary adaptations -- Postcanine megadontia -- Occlusal morphology and bunodonty -- Facial skeleton -- Nonmorphological means of inference -- Reconciling contradictions -- A productive role for contingency -- A structuralist perspective on the early hominid skull -- The osteocyte perspective on human evolution bone adaptation : the view from the mailroom -- Testing equifinality -- Too many degrees of freedom -- Only people speak, and only people have chins -- Theoretical morphology of bone growth : shear strain as the architect -- What do osteocytes think about? -- Expanding the prescription -- Teleonomy revisited conjuring human evolution with numbers and skepticism -- Bad paradigm or bad practice? -- Lowering expectations now for a more mature science later.
Abstract "The book explores the relationship of theory to practice in the discipline of functional morphology in the context of human evolution"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2021011252
ISBN9781421442945 (hardcover)
ISBN(ebook)

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