Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Humanity, Culture and Social Life

There have been rapid advances in anthropological knowledge on a wide variety of fronts in recent years. This Companion provides a comprehensive survey of contemporary thinking in biological, social and cultural anthropology. In bringing these three fields together, it establishes their interconnections, and lays the foundations for an integrated perspective on the conditions of human life appropriate to the challenges of the future. In thirty-five separately authored chapters a selection of the world's leading authorities present their own visions of the state of play in their different specialisms, and chart out new directions of inquiry. The structure of the book is such that it is divided into three parts - Humanity, Culture and Social Life. In the first part the emphasis is on human beings as members of a species, on how that species differs from others, on how it has evolved, and on how human populations have adapted to and in turn transformed their environments. The second part focuses on theorigins and structure of human culture, and on the role of culture in action, perception and cognition. The third part examines the various aspects of the relationships and processes that are carried on by persons and groups in the course of social life. Each part is preceded by a short editorial introduction and the entire work is prefaced by a general introduction outlining the scope and promise of the discipline of anthropology as a whole. Special features include: * a unique synthesis of the three branches of anthropology - social, cultural and biological * carefully illustrated with line drawings * prestigious editor leads an international team of acknowledged experts in each field * useful cross-references within the text, with full bibliographical references and suggestions for further reading