Hominids first appeared as a serial in Analog Science Fiction, won the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award the same year; In this polished anthropological SF yarn, Neanderthals have developed a radically different civilization on a parallel Earth, as both sides discover when a Neanderthal physicist, Ponter Boddit, accidentally passes from his universe into a Canadian underground research facility. Fortunately, a team of human scientists, including expert paleoanthropologist Mary Vaughan, promptly identifies and warmly receives Ponter.
With the benefit of recent advances in geological and geophysical techniques, Jordi Agusti and Mauricio Anton are able to trace the processes of mammalian evolution as never before; events that hitherto appeared synchronous or at least closely related can now be distinguished on a scale of hundreds or even dozens of thousands of years, revealing the dramatic importance of climactic changes both major and minor. Evolutionary developments are rendered in magnificent illustrations of the many extraordinary species that once inhabited Europe, detailing their osteology, functional anatomy, and inferred patterns of locomotion and behaviour. Based on the latest research and field work, Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids transforms our understanding of how mammals evolved and changed the face of the planet.
This comprehensive survey of contemporary thought in biological, social and cultural anthropology sets the foundation for their future development and integration. The principal rationale behind the Encyclopedia is to overcome the division and fragmentation within the approaches of the humanities and natural sciences to anthropology. It emphasizes interconnections between perspectives and sub-disciplines, producing a complete perspective on what it means to be human.
