Book Reviews
The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins (2nd edition). Richard G. Klein, 1999, The University of Chicago Press, xxx ฯฉ 810 pp., $45.00 (hardbound).
The first edition of this book was perhaps the most widely used volume in paleoanthropology. It was both a general reference source for researchers in physical anthropology and archaeology and a textbook for students. This edition is a fully and impressively updated version of the original. Ten years have passed since the appearance of the first edition. During this time, a plethora of new higher primate and human fossils and Pleistocene archaeological sites were published, major taxonomic and phylogenetic controversies occurred, the broad pattern of human biological and cultural evolution was challenged, and an international association devoted solely to the study of paleoanthropology (the Paleoanthropology Society) was established. How faithfully does this new text reflect the changes that have taken place in paleoanthropology in the course of this decade? The answer is, very faithfully, indeed. Furthermore, Klein, unlike so many other authors, resists the temptation to make the book merely a description of hominid fossil remains and an enervating list of sites, stratigraphy, dating, fauna, and artifacts. Klein instead successfully undertakes the remarkably difficult task of synthesizing the available geological, paleontological, and archaeological data-the fundamental goal of paleoanthropology.
Part of the response in updating the book has been mechanical: In order to manage the decade-long onslaught of material, Klein has more than tripled the text pages, and more than doubled the reference pages. Wonderful new illustrations have been added. Many of these are original line drawings of fossils by Klein's long-time collaborator, Kathryn Cruz-Uribe. In contrast to the first edition, the reference list is numbered, and text citations appear by number, rather than by author's name and date. This procedure condenses the text, but somewhat obscures the attribution. However, there is a reference index listing reference numbers and pages, as well as a site and subject index. Headings in the subject index are very clear, and often contain anatomical definitions-i.e., "Tympanic ring (bony support for eardrum)"-or colloquial names of famous fossil specimens-i.e., Little Foot and Lucy. Two appendices on lithics and zoological nomenclature and classification have disappeared. Material on lithic technology and typology now is incorporated directly into chapters on hominid taxa. Klein continues to use his characteristic and pedagogically useful method of portraying zooarchaeological data: charts and graphs with zooarchaeological data are shown with icons of living or fossil species, and means and standard deviations are always completely clear. There is a new introductory chapter on classification, phylogeny, and evolution.
Given the importance of systematics and evolutionary theory to paleoanthropology, the introductory chapter is crucial. Yet, it is a pity that Klein here still describes punctuated equilibria as an important evolutionary process, equivalent to natural selection and genetic drift. He argues that it is strongly supported by the fossil record, and may be the principle cause of macroevolutionary events. Problems with punctuated equilibria theory have long been widely recognized (Somit and Peterson, 1992). Ruse (1999:150-151) analyzes citations from Evolution and Paleobiology to demonstrate that the concept of punctuated equilibria is not used by specialists in evolutionary theory. Does this matter? Accounts of human evolution have often been plagued by bizarre ideas and special pleading-even more reason to ensure that an impressive synthesis discards problematic ideas. Furthermore, this may have an impact on the interpretation of human evolution, because punctuated equilibria downplays natural selection and adaptation, while advocating morphological stasis, abrupt species origins in small founding populations, and abrupt extinction events. This concept may in fact influence Klein's conclusions in the last chapters. VOL. 15, NO. 4
Klein keeps abreast of the pace of species recognition, which is driven partly by new discoveries, and partly by the use of cladistic methodology in classification. The classification and evolutionary history of fossil hominids have often been sources of controversy. Yet, a major question in modern paleoanthropology is whether phylogenetic analysis is sufficient in itself to illustrate every important aspect of human evolution-a claim made by cladistic systematists-or whether the paleobiology and adaptive complexes of fossil hominids should also be studied, even though natural selection can create similar morphology and behavior in different lineages, which obscures the phylogenetic trail. As an archaeologist, Klein chooses to accentuate paleobiology. Consequently, hominid functional morphology and behavior gleaned from the archaeological record become the focus of the book. Phylogeny is of secondary value. Although phylogenies are illustrated, they introduce or summarize material. The value of the paleobiological solution first becomes apparent in the chapter dealing with nonhuman primate evolution. Major features in primate evolution from the late Cretaceous to the late Miocene are presented here in terms of a series of adaptive radiations. This approach is continued in the succeeding chapters on hominid taxa.
As in the first edition, Homo habilis appears in a long chapter with the australopithecines. It is clear that fossils referred to this taxon show an extraordinary degree of variability. Two species (H. habilis and H. rudolfensis) may be represented, and Klein presents the evidence for both the single and the two species hypothesis. In any case, Klein strongly argues that the fossils share substantial similarities with the australopithecines. This judgment has recently been confirmed by Wood and Collard (1999), who incorporate adaptation into an initial cladistic analysis; the result is that African Homo erectus (appearing at 1.9 mya) becomes the first taxon in genus Homo, and H. habilis and H. rudolfensis are sunk into the genus Australopithecus.
The succeeding chapter deals with the evolution and dispersion of genus Homo. One major theme is that Homo did not leave Africa for a long time, and that there may have been a number of tentative, ultimately unsuccessful colonizations of Europe. In contrast to researchers who think that some hominid material in Java dates to 1.8-1.6 mya, Klein thinks that colonization of the Old World occurred much later, and believes that no specimens from Java are older than 1 mya. 'Ubeidiya in Israel is given as the oldest Eurasian site at 1.4 mya, and it is only just beyond Africa, with both African and Eurasian faunal elements, and artifacts that closely resemble those from Olduvai Gorge. Dmanisi, in the Republic of Georgia, clearly outside of Africa, and with Eurasian fauna, is assessed at dating to about 1 mya, in large part because of the morphology of the fossil hominid mandible. Successful dispersal from Africa and a persistent hominid presence in Europe are not considered to occur until after 500,000 years. Another major theme is the recognition of multiple species within genus Homo (H. ergaster, H. erectus, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, H. sapiens). The use of "archaic" H. sapiens has been largely dropped from this edition, although Homo heidelbergensis is a partial replacement. Homo antecessor is not used for the fossils from Trinchera Dolina, at Atapuerca, Spain, and the date of this material is estimated as being closer to 500,000 years, rather than 800,000 years. Later fossils from the Sima de los Huesos site at Atapuerca are classified as Neanderthals. Klein argues that only fully behaviorally modern humans should be classified as Homo sapiens. He suggests (p. 264) the possible use of Homo helmei for hominids modern in anatomy but not modern in behavior, although he does not employ this taxon himself. Because the diagnosis of Homo sapiens rests on behavior, the presence of archaeological evidence becomes crucial, although bone biology, development, and pathology also contribute to the reconstruction of behavior.
After 500,000 years ago, three evolving hominid lineages exist in the Old World, represented by three species (Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens). Europe and western Asia remain distinctly different from the Far East. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) inhabit this realm, and may appear in Spain as early as 300,000 years ago. There is a long chapter on Neanderthals and other contemporary hominids. The Neanderthals have an especially dense paleontological and archaeological record, which is very well dated. Table 6.1, listing African contemporaries of the Neanderthals, is a linchpin of Klein's argument that anatomically modern hominids are found in Africa. Many of these dates are questionable, or have a great range. The site of Klasies River Mouth probably yields the best evidence for anatomical modernity, and here Klein argues on zooarchaeological grounds that hominid