About this item
Anthropology is the organized study of what makes humans human. It takes an objective step back to view homo sapiens as a species and ask questions like: Given our common characteristics, why aren't all of us exactly the same? Why do people across the world have variable skin and hair color and so many inventive ways to say hello? And how can knowing the reasons behind our differences -- as well as our similarities -- teach us useful lessons for the future? The updated edition of Anthropology For Dummies gives you a panoramic view of the fascinating fieldwork and theory that seeks to answer these questions -- and helps you view the human world through impartial, anthropological eyes. Keeping the jargon to a minimum, Anthropology For Dummies explores the four main subdivisions of the discipline, from the adventurous Indiana Jones territory of archaeology and the hands-on biological insights provided by our physical nature to the studious book-cracking brainwork of cultural and linguistic investigation.
About the Author
Educated in Africa, England, the USA and Canada, Dr. Cameron M. Smith teaches archaeology and human evolution at Portland State University and Linfield College. He has published in peer-reviewed research journals, written features for magazines including 'Scientific American', 'Scientific American MIND', 'OMNI', 'Cultural Survival' and 'Archaeology', and written several books. His award-winning travel writing has appeared in both magazines and anthologies. Away from his office, Cameron is an active SCUBA diver and paraglider pilot whose many expeditions have taken him from Africa to the Arctic. His most recent book is 'Emigrating Beyond Earth: Human Adaptation and Space Colonization' (Springer 2012) . He is currently writing and illustrating an atlas of human prehistory (Fall 2014) and a technical foundation on the cultural and genetic issues involved in human space colonization (Fall 2016) . You can find out more at his academic page: http://pdx.academia.edu/CameronMSmith.
