Book ReviewsA BRAIN FOR ALL SEASONS: HUMAN EVOLUTION AND

ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE. By William H. Calvin.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2002. 341pp. ISBN 0-226-09201-1. $25.00 (cloth).

The focus of this book is on how climate haschanged in the past, often rapidly and intensely, andhow these changes may have affected the course ofhuman evolution. Although the title suggests a pri-mary focus on the relationship of rapid climaticchange and changes in human brain size and struc-ture, the book actually has a broader focus, includ-ing discussion of other events in human evolution,such as the origin of bipedalism. As a trade book, itis geared toward a lay audience that may not befamiliar with details of past climate change or therecord of human evolution.

The book is structured as a travelogue of 35 shortchapters, which when placed in sequence, trace theauthor’s travels from England to South Africa andback north again, finishing up at the border betweenthe U.S. and Canada. The individual chapters arewritten as a series of notes for an imaginary “Hu-man Evolution E-Seminar.” At each location, theauthor relates some aspect of climate change or hu-man evolutionary biology to the particular locationhe is visiting or flying over. In some cases, such asvisits to Sterkfontein and Olorgesailie, this workswell. In others, it is a bit strained, such as the visitto Darwin’s home in Downe, England, as an oppor-tunity to discuss gradualism. Even here, however,the overall structure is both enjoyable to read andclear to follow. My primary reservation about thisgeographically oriented structure is that it results inhopping around chronologically in the fossil record;for example, some discussion of the emergence ofanatomically modern humans precedes discussion ofHomo erectus. This may be somewhat confusing forreaders not already familiar with the general se-quence of hominid evolutionary trends (althoughthere is a chronological overview in an early chapter,albeit in reverse chronological order).

The strength of this book is in its clear descrip-tions of the mechanisms of climate change, includingthe subtle interactions between environmental fac-tors that can lead to abrupt reversals in a very shortperiod of time. The discussion of more recent find-ings supporting rapid rather than gradual climatechange is well-done, as are the final few chaptersdiscussing global warming. The author suggests,and I agree, that rapid shifts in climate, often withina few years, can produce conditions of equally rapidevolutionary change. A rapidly shifting environmentand resource base most likely created many unique

challenges for our ancestors, who then responded bymeans of generalized problem-solving and culturaladaptations. I suspect most anthropologists wouldagree with the author’s basic premise that rapidclimatic change selected for such abilities.

However, specific links between climate changeand human evolution are not elaborated on in muchdetail, perhaps because of the intended level of thebook. Although this is understandable, I would havepreferred more in-depth discussion of such ideas, asthe current coverage is spotty. There is very littleactual discussion of brain size in human evolutionthroughout the book, excepting one short chapterthat suggests a possible link between brain size andK-selection, but does not elaborate upon it. I wouldhave liked to see additional focus on the actual pat-terns of hominid brain evolution other than a quicksummary and graph. For example, there is littlediscussion of the debate over stasis vs. rapid changein brain size. Is the relative stasis from 2 Ma toabout 700,000 years ago an artifact of sampling, or areal evolutionary phenomenon? Why does brain sizeincrease so rapidly afterwards? What is the possiblelink between this increase and climate change?What is the relationship between changes in bodysize and changes in brain size? These are but a fewof the unanswered questions in the book. I realizethat we do not have complete answers for such ques-tions, but a book focusing on human evolutionshould give greater attention to the debate over suchquestions.

Even in areas where debates are covered, thereneeds to be additional detail outlining the variouspros and cons of given models. There is nothingwrong with presenting a preferred model, but thereshould be more detail given to alternative hypothe-ses and ongoing debate. Although there is mentionof different views throughout the book, they aresometimes too cursory or flippant to be useful for anewcomer to the field. For example, the author givesdisproportionate attention to topics generally notwell-supported, such as an aquatic origin of bipedal-ism, or the possible use of Acheulian hand axes asthrown hunting weapons (“Killer Frisbees”) onwhich the author spends 9 pages. The author’s tonein such cases is a bit condescending and reducesarguments against such ideas to a simplistic level,such as his statement regarding rejection of theaquatic ape hypothesis: “Archaeologists do not buythe aquatic hypothesis, perhaps because there’snothing in it for them to study yet . . . Physical an-thropologists don’t like it for similar reasons; theirstrength is anatomy, and most aspects of the aquaticape hypothesis are physiological” (pp. 88–89). Al-though there is some truth to the author’s view thatscientists’ specializations do affect the way in which

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 121:389–393 (2003)

© 2003 WILEY-LISS, INC.

they approach research problems, the brush withwhich he paints anthropologists is too broad.

In sum, I have mixed feelings about the book.Although I liked the discussions and clear explana-tions of climate change, I think that the discussionsof human evolution were too brief and often unbal-anced. The lack of suitable detail on human evolu-tion, combined with the jumping back and forthchronologically in the fossil and archaeologicalrecords, makes this book of little usefulness in anintroductory course or for the public. It would havebeen more useful, given the travelogue format, to

stick specifically to the general issue of the causesand rates of climate change.

JOHN H. RELETHFORD

Department of AnthropologyState University of New York College at OneontaOneonta, New York

DOI 10.1002/ajpa.10197

HOMINOID EVOLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN EUROPE:PHYLOGENY OF THE NEOGENE HOMINOID PRIMATES OF

EURASIA, VOLUME 2. Edited by Louis de Bonis,George Koufous, and Peter Andrews. Cambridge,UK: Cambridge University Press. 2001. 372 pp.ISBN 0-521-66075-0. $95.00 (cloth).

The aims of the volume are to: 1) investigate Eur-asian hominoid evolution within its larger biostrati-graphic and ecological context; and 2) present newmethods of analyzing fossil material, particularlythose involving computer imaging. While the subjectof the volume is relatively specialized, the book isintended to be useful for paleoanthropologists, what-ever their specialization, and in this it is largelysuccessful. The diversity of approaches used, meth-ods outlined, and range of opinions expressed meansthere is something for everyone, including strict ad-aptationists, paleobiologists, developmental biolo-gists, and the cladophilic. Many of the papers con-tained within will have utility far beyond the specificissues addressed in this volume. However, as com-pendiums typically are, the volume is a bit uneven,containing some papers that are sure to be citedoften, along with others that are less innovative.

The book is divided into three sections. The firstfocuses on chronology and environment, the secondon methods and phylogeny, and the third on issuesin hominoid functional morphology as they relate tophylogenetic reconstruction. There are only twochapters in the first section, but both are instructive.Augustı et al. present an improved chronology forEurasian Miocene hominoid localities, and this kindof work is essential because without accurate dates,it is not possible to test hypotheses about phyloge-netic relationships or the timing of dispersal events.In the following chapter, Fortelius and Hokkaneninvestigate whether or not Eurasian hominoid-bearing localities differ from nonhominoid-bearinglocalities in any demonstrable way. The answer tothe authors’ query is a resounding “NO,” and this isan important piece of information. In addition, theauthors use an original approach to the problem ofmeasuring species abundance (“sploch analysis”),

and it is important that researchers continue todevelop these novel methods of addressing samplingproblems.

The second section contains five papers, of whichtwo are outstanding contributions. The first is on iliactrabecular architecture (Macchiarelli et al.), and thesecond is concerned with discrete cranial variation(Braga). While Macchiarelli et al. are not the first tolook at trabecular bone, their results are particularlycompelling because they develop a comprehensivecomparative data base of about 100 primates, whichprovides the advantages of a large data base. Also,their results are intriguing because they corroboratethe work of others in suggesting that the locomotorrepertoire of Oreopithecus included a substantial bipe-dal component. More importantly, their methods canbe used to investigate issues in functional morphologywell beyond the scope of this volume.

The chapter on cranial discrete variation in greatapes (Braga) is exceptional primarily because thephotographs and illustrations are top-notch, an ex-ample that can (and should) be followed by others.In addition, Braga addresses two important ques-tions: 1) does the variation seen among the greatapes in discrete skeletal characters match the rela-tionships determined by molecular phylogenies (theanswer is yes) and 2) does variation in discrete skel-etal characters correspond to local populational andbiogeographic separation? The answer to question 2turns out to be complicated. First, it is clear thatpaleoprimatologists have been underestimating theamount of morphological variation in chimpanzeesamples. This work is then a cautionary tale aboutusing “chimpanzee morphology” to make interpreta-tions about the fossil record. Second, Braga arguesthat morphological differences among great ape taxareflect the different frequencies with which traitsare found, rather than the simple dichotomy ofpresent/absent, a pattern likely due to perturbationsin the timing of ontogenetic events.

The methods section also includes a literaturereview of microwear and diet in Eurasian Miocenecatarrhines (King), and a chapter on the computer-assisted morphometry of hominoid fossils (Zollikofer

390 BOOK REVIEWS

and Ponce de Leon). The techniques discussed foranalyzing complex shapes are clearly valuable, butthe contribution of this methodology towards solvingproblems involving the Eurasian hominoid record isnot really made explicit.

Three chapters in the volume rely heavily on par-simony analyses and/or computer cladogram-gener-ating programs. Collard and Wood amass a largedata set of craniodental variables, and test cranio-dental phylogeny against the known “true” phylog-eny as derived from molecular data, with the resultthat craniodental morphology cannot be relied uponto discover the true nature of phylogenetic relation-ships. While I have no problems with their specificconclusions, these kinds of analyses are easily crit-icized because they often fail to consider potentialproblems associated with parsimony analyses. Forexample, that evolution is unlikely to operate underthe confines of parsimony and/or the nonindepen-dence of characters. Indeed, much the same could besaid about two other chapters, one on “African andEurasian Miocene Hominoids and the Origin of theHominidae” (Begun), and another on the phyloge-netic relationships of Ouranopithecus macedonien-sis (de Bonis and Koufos).

The third section is a tour through a variety ofapproaches to understanding the functional mor-phology of Eurasian Miocene hominoids as it relatesto their phylogenetic relationships. This section con-tains eight papers and a summary overview (Pil-beam and Young). The chapter on “Eurasian Homi-noid Evolution in the Light of Recent DryopithecusFindings” (Kohler et al.) is particularly intriguing,as the authors promote the idea that Dryopithecusas well as Sivapithecus, Ankarapithecus, Ouran-opithecus, Lufengpithecus, and Oreopithecus are allmembers of the Pongo clade, a conclusion that di-rectly contradicts other analyses in the same volume(e.g., the chapter by Begun). Another important pa-per in this section evaluates the functional morphol-ogy of Ankarapithecus meteai (Andrews and Alp-agut). The authors deliver a compelling case that A.meteai was a hard-object feeder, but more impor-tantly, this chapter is a caveat about recognizingthat all parts of the skull are developmentally andfunctionally related. In the same vein, a chapter onthe forelimb function, bone curvature, and phylog-eny of Sivapithecus (Richmond and Whalen)thoughtfully discusses the importance of under-

standing the adaptive significance of features, in-cluding to what extent traits are constrained bycanalization.

One of the best-written and most informativechapters in the volume focuses on interpreting thephylogeny of Ouranopithecus as it relates to sexu-ally dimorphic characters (Kelley). The author con-cludes that Ouranopithecus does not show caninereduction, and that this feature is unlikely to havemuch phylogenetic utility even if canine reductioncould be demonstrated. Another original but contro-versial study focuses on heterochrony and the cra-nial anatomy of Oreopithecus (Alba et al.). The basictenet of the chapter is that morphological traits can-not be interpreted without understanding the traits’adaptive value, ontogenetic development, and flexi-bility with regard to developmental constraints.However, the chapter also makes a claim not just forpaedomorphosis, but for neoteny in Oreopithecus(particularly in the cranium), and this is likely to becontroversial. I am not a developmental biologist,but it is my understanding that in order to demon-strate neoteny, it would be necessary to identify theancestor of Oreopithecus, and that inferring the an-cestral ontogenetic trajectory based on observationsof such in Pongo and Pan is perilously error-prone.

This volume brings the current work of a largenumber of international scientists to bear directlyon the topic of Eurasian Miocene hominoids, and theresult is a good and useful book. Many of the chap-ters are controversial, and the conclusions reachedin one chapter often contradict those reached inothers. Moreover, there is no indication that a con-sensus on any of the issues will be reached any timesoon. However, that is really only a problem forvolumes intended to be read cover to cover. Thisbook is more a collection of separate studies than acohesive whole, but it does not pretend to be otherthan it is, a “slice of life” regarding the currentstatus of work on Eurasian Miocene hominoids.

ELLEN MILLER

Department of AnthropologyWake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, North Carolina

DOI 10.1002/ajpa.10198

BRAIN EVOLUTION AND COGNITION. Edited by GerhardRoth and Mario F. Wullimann. New York: JohnWiley & Sons/Spektrum Academischer Verlag.2001. 597 pp. ISBN 0-471-33170-8. $135.00 (cloth).

From its title, one might expect this collection tofocus on animals with brains, if not minds. Not so, as

illustrated by Chapter 2 (“The Echinoderm NervousSystem and Its Phylogenetic Interpretation”) byThomas Heinzeller and Ulrich Welsch, which con-cerns the nervous system of echinoderms (sea liliesand feather stars) that do not have brains and there-fore “lack the substrate of advanced cognition” (p.69). The fact that the authors do not rule out any

BOOK REVIEWS 391

kind of cognition at all for echinoderms is in keepingwith the editors’ broad definition that cognition:

“includes such diverse functions as perception, learning, memory,imagination, thinking, expecting, and planning, be they accom-panied by consciousness or not. From this it follows that cognitionis not necessarily restricted to human beings, nor does it presup-pose the existence of consciousness” (p. 7).

As with any book, this one has some typos andminor errors. (For example, Figure 4.1 is reproducedas Figure 4.2 on p. 118, while the actual figure ismissing.) The volume also lacks a list of contributorswith their affiliations and contact information,which is usually provided in edited volumes for read-ers who wish to communicate with authors. Thatsaid, what we have in this book is a very eclecticcollection of essays on comparative neurobiologythat are interpreted within an evolutionary frame-work that frequently relies on cladistic and molecu-lar approaches.

Part I, entitled “Developmental and Adult BrainOrganization in Evolution,” contains nine chap-ters, including three on specific organisms (theaforementioned sea lilies, tongue-projectingsalamanders, and barn owls) and six that analyzemajor systems (e.g., sensory and motor systems invertebrates) or processes governing brain organi-zation (e.g., that control brain phenotypes andregulatory genes in metazoans). Chapter 5 (“Evo-lution of the Forebrain in Tetrapods”) by ToruShimizu begins with a well-written and lucid re-view of the evolution of amphibians, reptiles,birds, and mammals, and then gets better with adescription of the evolution of their forebrains in-terpreted within environmental and behavioralcontexts. This chapter I will assign for readingand discussion, next time I teach a graduate sem-inar on brain evolution! Chapter 9 (“EvolutionaryConstraints of Large Telencephala”) by Gerd Reh-kamper, Heiko Frahm, and Michael Mann revealsthat the relatively large telencephala of birds andmammals are due to the enlargement of differentfunctional subunits (e.g., the olfactory bulb, iso-cortex, and hippocampus) and, again, relates com-parative neuroanatomy to evolutionary adapta-tions. This chapter also includes an interestingdiscussion about the effects of domestication onbrain size.

Part II, entitled “Cognition: From Neural Basisto Behavior,” contains 10 chapters, including oneon fish, two on insects, three on birds, and a finalfour that broadly analyze design features of brainsand higher consciousness. Among insects, honey-bees are “exceptionally gifted insects” (p. 452,Chapter 15, see below) that are relatively brainy,as detailed in Chapter 11 (“Cognition in Insects:The Honeybee as a Study Case”) by Randolf Men-

zel et al. This interesting chapter begins with theobservation that “Insects are small animals andtherefore have small brains” (p. 333), and thendescribes those small brains. Birdbrains (a misno-mer because birds, like mammals, have relativelybig brains) are a major focus of this book. Anexcellent discussion comparing the brains, behav-ior, and evolution of birds and mammals is pre-sented in Chapter 15 (“Cognition of Birds as Prod-ucts of Evolved Brains”) by Juan Delius et al.Chapter 16 (“What Can the Cerebral Cortex DoBetter Than Other Parts of the Brain?”) by AlmutSchuz is the shortest chapter in the book, and oneof the best. (It, too, will be assigned reading for mygraduate seminar.) Schuz succinctly and logicallyanswers the question raised by his title: the con-nectivity that is typical of the cerebral cortex “isparticularly well suited for functions that are es-sential for cognitive processes (viz., for storing,retrieving, and handling correlations)” (p. 494).Michel Hofman’s Chapter 17 (“Evolution andComplexity of the Human Brain: Some OrganizingPrinciples”) offers a clear synthesis of the allomet-ric and neuronal connectivity constraints that gov-ern mammalian brain evolution, and ends withthe thought-provoking suggestion that, “as a spe-cies, Homo sapiens is nearly at the end of the roadas far as brain evolution is concerned” (p. 518). Abook of this nature would not be complete withouta contribution from Harry Jerison, which is foundin Chapter 18 (“The Evolution of Neural and Be-havioral Complexity”). Jerison melds psychology(e.g., studies of vigilance and attention) with pa-leoneurology (the evolution of encephalization invertebrates), and concludes that mammals havelarge brains “to pack the extensive neural machin-ery required to construct maps of the externalworld” (p. 549). I also like Jerison’s definition of“mind” as “the reality created by very large work-ing brains” (p. 549).

Overall, this book is a good read for anyonewith broad interests in brain evolution. I thinkthis volume is technical enough that readerswith a background in neuroanatomy will appreci-ate it most. In sum, I learned a lot from thisbook, and will use it as a reference text in thefuture.

DEAN FALK

Department of AnthropologyFlorida State UniversityTallahassee, Florida

DOI 10.1002/ajpa.10200

392 BOOK REVIEWS

BOOKS RECEIVEDBloom H (2000) The Global Brain: The Evolution of

Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century.New York: Wiley-Liss. 370 pp. $16.95 (paper).

Cassidy S, and Allanson J (eds.) (2001) Management ofGenetic Syndromes. New York: Wiley-Liss. 554 pp.$140.00 (cloth).

Colbert EH, Morales M, and Minkoff E (2001) Colbert’sEvolution of the Vertebrates. Fifth Edition. NewYork: Wiley-Liss. 576 pp. $270.00 (cloth).

Klein R, and Edgar B (2002) The Dawn of Human Cul-ture. New York: Wiley-Liss. 288 pp. $27.95 (paper).

Lawson A, and Williams F (2001) An IntroductoryGuide to Disease Mapping. New York: Wiley-Liss.134 pp. $75.00 (cloth).

Newman S (2001) Biostatistical Methods in Epidemi-ology. New York: Wiley-Liss. 382 pp. $84.95(cloth).

Schwartz J, and Tattersall I (2002) The Human FossilRecord: Volume I: Terminology and CraniodentalMorphology of Genus Homo (Europe). New York:Wiley-Liss. 388 pp. $125.00 (cloth).

Zelditch M (ed.) (2001) Beyond Heterochrony: The Evo-lution of Development. New York: Wiley-Liss. 371 pp.$99.95 (cloth).

BOOK REVIEWS 393