Savannah Lives Animal Life and the Human Evolution of Africa

Name: Savannah Lives Animal Life and the Human Evolution of Africa
Price: 8.56 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780198509257

ISBN-10: 0198509251

ISBN-13: 9780198509257

Edition: 1st 2002

Authors: Staffan Ulfstrand, Cheryl Jones Fur

List price: $40.00

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In a lively, personal style, Savannah Lives offers an introduction to the African savannahs as home to a unique wildlife and as the context for the origin and evolution of the human species. After briefly explaining the geology of the African continent and the climatic changes that have shaped its vegetation, Staffan Ulfstrand describes how the savannah is constantly modified by fire, water, elephants - and people. Much of the book is taken up with describing the lives of some of the most charismatic savannah species and how they have evolved to cope with the environment they lived in. Ulfstrand goes on to explain how our knowledge of animals' behaviour and evolution can provide insights…

Book details

List price: $40.00
Edition: 1st
Copyright year: 2002
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Publication date: 2/13/2003
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 330
Size: 6.61" wide x 9.45" long x 0.93" tall
Weight: 1.870
Language: English



Preface



The curtain rises on the final act



A significant digression



Formation of the savannah


The birth of Africa


Savannah origins


Three kinds of savannah


Water


Fire


The savannah's underground culture


Herbivores and vegetation


Paradise in peril



Pillars of the earth



The long reach of a giraffe's neck



Savannah ruminants: five different lifestyles


Pathway through the stomach


Buffalo: life in a herd


Impala: the perfect antelope


Dik-dik: two by two


Wildebeest and grass


Springboks in the land of thirst


Magnificent diversity



Sapphire in the sand



Masculine mothers in moderate collusion



Lion prides--nursery schools and death patrols



Baboon thoughts



War and peace, crime and punishment in chimpanzee society



Bonobos: 'make love, not war'



Humans--marked for life


Down from the family tree


Enter humans


Flight from the rainforest


Footprints at Laetoli


By the sweat of one's brow


The most important thing


The group: individual life insurance


Status, prestige--and loss of face


Machiavelli's darker and lighter sides


With eyes sensitive to green


Tools of stone


Delicious meat


Chattering humans


Family problems


Human nature



Small steps, long journey


Cameos of the key species


Suggested further reading


Index