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Ecological concepts have been applied to lower Pleistocene hominid evolution for several years (e.g., Mayr 1951; Robinson 1963; Weiss 1972; Wolpoff 1971). In this paper the major ecological hypotheses are reviewed and their rationale considered in light of prevalent theories on speciation. This review suggests that the hypotheses are central to an understanding of taxonomy and that greater precision in their application is warranted. Allopatric and sympatric distributions of australopithecine populations are discussed. It is concluded that a single species taxonomy will fit the available evidence.

Many physical anthropologists study populations using data that come primarily from the historical record. For this volume's authors, the classic anthropological 'field' is not the glamour of an exotic locale, but the sometimes tedium of the dusty back rooms of libraries, archives and museum collections. This book tells of the way in which archival data inform anthropological questions about human biology and health. The authors present a diverse array of human biological evidence from a variety of sources including the archaeological record, medical collections, church records, contemporary health and growth data and genetic information from the descendants of historical populations. The papers demonstrate how the analysis of historical documents expands the horizons of research in human biology, extends the longitudinal analysis of microevolutionary and social processes into the present and enhances our understanding of the human condition

"Beyond Germs challenges the hypothesis that the massive depopulation of the New World was primarily caused by diseases brought by Europeans, which scholars used for decades to explain the decimation of the indigenous peoples of North America. Contributors argue that blaming germs downplays the active role of Europeans in inciting wars, destroying livelihoods, and erasing identities"--Provided by publisher

Recent research has considerably increased our understanding of the factors associated with the American epidemiological transition in the late nineteenth century. However, uncertainty remains regarding the impact on mortality of specific changes ancillary to urbanization and industrialization in American cities and towns. The broad objective of the Connecticut Valley Historical Demography Project is to examine changing relationships between socioeconomic status, the rise of new urban-industrial communities, and cause-specific mortality trends during the rapid development of New England manufacturing. To address these issues, the present analysis examines two emergent urban centers in Massachusetts, adopting a micro-demographic approach to explore late-nineteenth-century and turn-of-the-century determinants of mortality.