Book Reviews

Infections and Inequalities: The ModernPlagues. By Paul Farmer. xiv + 376 pp.Berkeley: University of California Press.1999. $29.95 (cloth).

As an unabashed admirer of Paul Farm-er’s writing on infectious disease, I eagerlydevoured his latest collection of essays, In-fections and Inequalities: The ModernPlagues. Those familiar with his work willrecognize many of the qualities that make itso accessible. His graceful style blends sys-tematic analysis with narratives of suffer-ing; locations that range from his small, ru-ral clinic in Do Kay, Haiti, to urban settingsin the United States; and a perspective thatbridges clinical medicine and social theory.Many will recognize much of the content ofthe essays, which has appeared in a varietyof publications since 1990. Farmer bringsthem together effectively in this volume toask the question: why is the distributionand outcome of infectious disease unequal?

Over the span of 10 chapters and 282pages (plus 35 pages of endnotes), he makesthe case that inequalities in the experienceof infectious disease are biological manifes-tations of the social order. Accordingly, in-fectious disease can only be properly under-stood from a biosocial perspective that links“molecular epidemiology to history, ethnog-raphy, and political economy” (p. 5). This isnot a particularly earth-shattering observa-tion to anthropologists who cut their teethon the ever-evolving biocultural model. YetFarmer offers a compelling, elegant, nu-anced, and authoritative rendering of howlarge-scale social processes and inequalitiescame to be expressed in local disparities inthe experience of infectious disease. He callsthis “critical epidemiology,” a point of viewthat has emerged from his life as full-timeclinician and anthropologist.

This two-pronged position gives him thefreedom to critique both perspectives andconstitutes, as it were, a view from thebridge. He identifies myths emanating fromepidemiology and anthropology that ham-per research on and organized responses toinfectious disease. Using the example ofmultidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB),for example, Farmer debunks various clini-cal views of the disease, including asser-

tions that it is untreatable, too expensive totreat in poor countries, and chiefly causedby noncompliance. He also points to failuresin social analysis, including studies thatconflate cultural differences with structuralviolence, romanticize “folk healing,” or mini-mize the role of poverty and inequality. Inother words, there is wonderful materialhere to keep a seminar discussion hopping,especially in Chapters 2 (“Rethinking‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’ ”), 9 (“Im-modest Claims of Causality: Social Scien-tists and the ‘New Tuberculosis’ ”), and 10(“Persistent Plagues: Biological Expressionsof Social Inequalities”).

This is not mere polemic. The essays offerdetailed reviews of studies of mostly HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, including tables ofdata, ethnographic and historical context,and the perspectives of the suffering, enliv-ened by his personal experiences and feel-ings as clinician-anthropologist. At thesame time, the book is a cry for social jus-tice. Over and over again, Farmer asks whythere is no commitment to the health of thedestitute poor when diseases like TB andHIV/AIDS are preventable and treatable.“One can be impressed by the power of mod-ern medicine and yet dejected by our failureto deliver it equitably” (p. 264). The impov-erished concept of “risk group,” he argues,fails to consider the interplay between hu-man agency and the powerful social forces(both local and global) that channel infec-tion into some individuals and not others.For Farmer, the modern plague is the wid-ening gap between haves and have-nots.“The poor, we’re told, will always be with us.If this is so, then infectious diseases will be,too—the plagues that the rich, in vain, at-tempt to keep at bay” (p. 282).

Apart from this dramatic over-statementof the case—and Farmer notes at the outsetthat the book is “lodged as a protest” (p.5)—I found the book to be a thoughtful, in-trospective exposition on the rapidly ex-panding field of emerging infectious disease.The framework of patients’ stories embed-ded in a critical analysis of the problem ofmedico-anthropological knowledge makesfor refreshing reading, chock-a-block withinformation, pathos, and passion. The es-says can be read as stand-alone pieces and Iplan to use some in my second-year course,“Plagues and Peoples.” The book also makes

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a good companion to Inhorn and Brown’s(1997) The Anthropology of Infectious Dis-ease. Physical anthropologists might wishfor a more substantive discussion of the lo-cal ecologies within which human storiesunfold, as well as some acknowledgementthat infectious disease is an inevitable partof life on earth and will be with us even ifpoverty and inequities are eliminated. How-ever, I can’t think of a better book for intro-ducing students to the complexity of infec-tious disease.

D. ANN HERRINGDepartment of AnthropologyMcMaster UniversityHamilton, Ontario, Canada

Prehistoric Lifeways in the Great Basin Wet-lands: Bioarchaeological Reconstructionand Interpretation. Edited by Brian E.Hemphill and Clark Spencer Larsen. xxii +394 pp. Salt Lake City, UT: University ofUtah Press. 1999. $45.00 (cloth).

Unusually wet weather in the 1980scaused water levels in the Great Salt Lake(Utah), Stillwater Marsh (Nevada), andMalheur Lake (Oregon) to rise and erodearchaeological sites, exposing human re-mains. This volume, consisting of 15 chap-ters, summarizes the results of collabora-tive research on several hundred of theseskeletons and numerous scattered bones.Because of this work, we now know muchmore about life in the Great Basin duringthe last few thousand years. This researcheffort illustrates quite well what can bedone with archaeological skeletons un-earthed by accident rather than by design.Most excavations in the United States areundertaken at sites threatened with de-struction, so this volume is a particularlyvaluable contribution to the archaeological,as well as osteological, literature.

This book also highlights what can be aproductive interaction between researchersand Native Americans from the time humanremains are discovered, through their exca-vation and study, to their eventual repatria-tion. Simms and Raymond succinctly coveragreements reached among governmentagencies, tribal groups, and archaeologists.

All were understandably interested in theprehistoric skeletons, although for differentreasons. Such cooperative arrangementsare increasingly becoming a necessity inAmerican archaeology, as also discussed byThomas.

Simms points out that the circumstancesof exposure and discovery resulted in a skel-etal sample of people who used wetlandsduring part or all of the year, instead of con-temporaneous farmers elsewhere in the re-gion. But likening the skeletons found ateroded sites to a “random” sample of wet-lands folk strains credulity (p. 30). Separatechapters by Simms, Kelly, and Oetting pro-vide archaeological and ethnographic con-texts for the osteological studies, especiallyin terms of debates over resource use andgroup mobility. Wetlands were always im-portant, but how they figured in adapta-tions to local settings varied over time andfrom one place to the next. This variabilityis poorly understood, and the osteologicalstudies provide information that cannot beobtained from other kinds of archaeologicaldata, as summarized by Bettinger.

Two chapters deal with stable isotopesand what they indicate about the composi-tion of ancient diets. In the Great Salt Lakearea, variation in d13C values decreasedgreatly during the 12th and 13th centuriesAD, a marked contrast to the situation inthe preceding several centuries when somepeople consumed greater amounts of foodwith a C4 signature, including maize (Col-train and Stafford). Males perhaps ate moreC4 plants, or the animals that fed on them,than females, although such a conclusion isclouded by samples that are not temporallyequivalent. No such sex-related differencein dietary composition is evident at Stillwa-ter Marsh (Schoeninger). In an especiallyfine analysis, Schoeninger shows that d13Cand d15N values for the Stillwater Marshfolk fell between prehistoric foragers andagriculturalists elsewhere in NorthAmerica, although they were closer to theformer than the latter. The range of valuesfor the Stillwater Marsh sample is large, in-dicating diverse diets and, hence, differentaccommodations to wetland settings.

Skeletal responses to mechanical stressare examined through osteoarthritis in theMalheur Lake (Hemphill) and StillwaterMarsh (Larsen and Hutchinson) samples, aswell as the cross-sectional properties offemora, humeri, and tibiae from all three

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study areas (Ruff). Osteoarthritis frequen-cies are high relative to those from the fewother systematically examined skeletal col-lections from North America. In terms ofjoint degeneration, Great Basin males livedharder lives than females. The Great Basinfemora are also relatively robust for prehis-toric North American skeletons. Of specialinterest is Ruff’s clear demonstration thathunter-gatherers display greater sexual di-morphism in femoral strength than agricul-turalists. The Great Basin skeletons havethe greatest sexual dimorphism of all NorthAmerican samples examined to date. Thusthe people of the Great Basin lived strenu-ous lives, and males in particular were ofteninvolved in arduous travel over rough ter-rain.

Several skeletal markers of poor health,including enamel hypoplasia on permanentteeth and the pathological proliferation ofbone, especially on tibiae, were recorded forthe Stillwater Marsh (Larsen and Hutchin-son), Malheur Lake (Nelson), and GreatSalt Lake (Bright and Loveland) collections.Many of these people had survived upsets indevelopment that left visible enamel defectson tooth crowns, although examples ofenamel hypoplasia were not equally com-mon in all samples. The frequencies ofpathological tibial involvement are likewisedissimilar. Despite well known but debateddifficulties with interpreting skeletal lesionfrequencies, these data indicate that diseaseexperiences varied throughout the GreatBasin.

Innovative work on ancient DNA was con-ducted by two research teams who exam-ined skeletons from the Great Salt Lake(O’Rourke, Parr, and Carlyle) and Stillwa-ter Marsh (Kaestle, Lorenz, and Smith).Their results represent an important addi-tion to the scanty data available on the ma-jor mitochondrial haplogroups in prehistoricNative American populations. If availablesamples reflect past reality, the Great Basinwas occupied by populations that differedgreatly from one another in terms of hap-logroup frequencies, regardless of any gen-eral cultural similarities. O’Rourke and col-leagues point out that sampling problemsand reliance on frequency data for only afew genetic markers make it difficult to sortout population movements using currentlyavailable ancient and modern mtDNA evi-dence for the Great Basin and neighboringregions.

Considering the great and rapid returnfrom this research effort, it is frustratingthat further evaluations of this provocativework, which was necessarily based on gen-erally small samples from scattered sites,will prove to be politically difficult. Yet ad-ditional skeletons are certain to turn up inthe Great Basin, even if they too are largelyserendipitous finds. This volume providesthe necessary basis for further research onthese additional skeletons as they becomeavailable.

In short, this book admirably serves twoseparate but related purposes. It is an ex-cellent presentation of research results, andit serves as a model for what can be donewith skeletons excavated in less than idealcircumstances. This volume should be onthe bookshelf of all human osteologists aswell as archaeologists involved with GreatBasin prehistory.

GEORGE R. MILNERDepartment of AnthropologyThe Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, Pennsylvania

Broken Bones: Anthropological Analysis ofBlunt Force Trauma. Edited by Alison Gal-loway. xviii + 371 pp. Springfield, IL:Charles C. Thomas. 1999. $66.95 (cloth).

Forensic anthropology is, if you will for-give the phrase, starting to fragment as adiscipline. To put it another way, its practi-tioners find themselves by choice or neces-sity engaging in analyses for which theirtraining probably did not equip them, butwhich their experiences have shown arenecessary. A generation ago forensic an-thropology was rarely more than forensicosteology, that is, the determination of thebig four: age, sex, ancestry, and stature.Now there are individuals who specialize inforensic archaeology (including search tech-niques); mass grave evaluation and exhu-mation in remote areas; human rights andthe identification of surviving relatives ofthe “disappeared ones”; air and traincrashes; decomposition rates; taphonomicfactors and so on. The list is growing.

This volume, Broken Bones, is a system-atic description of the manner in whichbones break due to a variety of forces. Al-

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though the editor/author cautions us thatthe determination of how someone died(manner and cause of death) is the “purviewof the medical examiner/coroner,” it is clearfrom the advent of this book that anthro-pologists are starting to knock at that par-ticular door. Indeed, as this book shows, in-creasingly welcomed by forensic pathologyand the courts is expert opinion on skeletalevidence by properly qualified forensic an-thropologists.

A knowledge of fractures due to blunttrauma is important for two roles that an-thropologists perform: personal identifica-tion from manifestly antemortem fracturepattern, and determination of the manner ofdeath from perimortem evidence. Also, ourexperience as osteologists with stained andbroken bones allows us to differentiate post-mortem fractures. This volume provides auseful summary of fractures throughout thebody.

The book has four sections. Chapter onedescribes the role of the forensic anthropolo-gist in trauma analysis. Chapter two re-views basic aspects of bone biomechanicsand the nosology of fractures. Chaptersthree through six provide an anatomic sur-vey of the literature on fractures. Chapterseven looks more closely at differential di-agnosis of fractures in homicides, motor ve-hicles, and falls. The last section containseight “case studies” by 15 authors including,in some cases, teams of pathologists, an-thropologist, and death investigators.

The authors, and particularly the editor(who wrote most of the contents), show animpressive amount of scholarship. Thereare 665 cited references. Faced with a frac-ture, whether healed or fresh, I would cer-tainly now turn first to this book to help meidentify the nature of the fracture and toprovide me with the tools and descriptiveterms to document the injury.

I evaluated the efficacy of this book interms of my own case work over a couple ofdecades. With rare exceptions I could findthe appropriate description and analysis tomatch the fractures I had observed. Thecase histories of craniofacial injuries inhomicide cases were uncannily like some ofmy own. In Afghanistan, I observed bilat-eral proximal fibular head fractures in acombatant buried in a mass grave. I ampuzzled as to precise cause, although Bro-ken Bones describes similar fractures inparachutists and epileptics. Hmmm? In

Bosnia, we observed a distressing number ofbilateral pubic rami fractures. Perhapsthese were simply due to the weight of aroaming backhoe at the time of the burialbut we suspect from eyewitness accountsthat rifle butts were the cause. In this book,similar fractures are called straddle orsaddle fractures (apparently both terms areacceptable). Radiating fractures of the car-pal surface of the radius are not described inthis book. I have encountered it in a forensiccase where it was attributed to a fall on theoutstretched hand or recoil from a handgun.

The subtitle of Broken Bones is Anthropo-logical Analysis of Blunt Force Trauma. Ihave to observe that this aspect of the bookis usually limited to a single paragraph atthe end of each lengthy anatomical section.The anthropological perspective seemsrather limited. For example, only after alengthy review of fractures in the cranium,mandible, hyoid, and vertebral column doesthe role of the anthropologist come up fordiscussion. We are recommended to note thelocation and direction of sacral fracture, aswell as to examine the rest of the pelvis, andfinally to use models in court to illustrateinjuries to this bone. As to ribs, as anthro-pologists we are aware of scavenging to thispart of the body. The author recommendsthe rib cage for thorough examination whichmeans it must be carefully cleaned. Well, OK.

This raises the matter of a quick deflesh-ing method. To make a proper contributionto the forensic examination of bodies, an-thropologists have to bite the bullet and de-cide how best to get rid of the flesh. Theauthors of one chapter describe the removalof three fresh heads and defleshing them tothe point where they could make proper ob-servations of the fractures to match to thepathologist’s description of the soft tissuedamage. This is exemplary, if essential, fo-rensic investigation. I wish the authors haddetailed their defleshing techniques andtimetable. Finally, I wish they had ex-plained how this was handled vis-a-vis thefamily’s desires for a funeral of the entireremains.

There are some problems with this book.Basically, it contains a lot of serious schol-arship marred by poor grammar, misspell-ings, and awkward phrasing. The lack of ad-equate proofreading was irksome to me(with the exception of the wonderful phrase,“recently decreased bone”). I don’t blame the

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authors so much as the publisher. Surelythey can afford an electronic or even humanspellchecker, ditto for the grammar. I wouldlike to see a second edition of this bookwhere the following changes could be made:remove the problems of style and spelling;add sections on dental trauma, epidemiol-ogy of fractures (including more informationon interacting variables of age, sex, and an-cestry); and include more on rates of frac-ture callus remodeling. Most of the case his-tories are germane.

I don’t think anthropologists can everhope to match the quality of expert opinionpossessed by forensic pathologists, many ofwhom do autopsies several times a day, onmany aspects of soft and hard tissue foren-sic evidence. We can certainly strive to ac-quire as much of their knowledge as we can.Our strength is that we are prepared andperhaps more able by circumstance and de-sire to take the time to deflesh and to studythe bones in minute detail. This gives us aplace at the autopsy table as it were. Inevi-tably we will encounter the associatedstates of soft tissue. It will not hurt us, andas the authors of this book point out, it willmake us better forensic osteologists and en-hance our ability to provide expert witnesstestimony on blunt trauma to bones.

MARK SKINNERDepartment of ArchaeologySimon Fraser UniversityBurnaby, British Columbia,

Canada

Origins of Intelligence: The Evolution of Cog-nitive Development in Monkeys, Apes andHumans. By Sue Taylor Parker and MichaelL. McKinney. xvi + 404 pp. Baltimore, MD:Johns Hopkins University Press. 1999.$55.00 (cloth).

When I sat down to read this volume, Iwas intrigued with the title and also im-pressed with the proposed “road map” setout in the introduction. Ever since hearing apresentation on fossil hominids and cogni-tion at a national meeting, and having awell-known psychologist lean over to meand say, “But who took the data?”, I havealways been a little skeptical of “evolution”

and “cognition” in the same sentence, and Iwas hoping this volume would change mymind. Although this book presents a lot ofinformation and outlines several plausiblealternatives, I do not feel any closer to un-derstanding the “evolution of cognition”than before I read this book.

The plan for the book is very good. Thefirst part discusses the data on cognitive de-velopment, and the second part is the evo-lutionary scenario for the development ofcognition in nonhuman and human pri-mates. The introduction gives a nice reviewof the field and acknowledges individualsworking on cognition. This is followed byseveral chapters on the physical, logical, so-cial, and symbolic domains of cognition in“children, apes, and monkeys,” but the workitself suffers from a lack of data from manyareas and perhaps would be better labeled“cognition in common chimpanzees, westernchildren, two old world monkey species, andone new world monkey species.” The lack ofdata is repeatedly acknowledged by the au-thors, but one is left with a sense of greatintent with nothing to back it up. The re-peated tables with more question marks (in-dicating no data) than data get particularlyannoying and detract from the fact thatwhatever is known at the moment is in-cluded. The authors present all relevantdata, and the reader is not required to go toone of the sources to get the complete story,which is probably the strongest feature ofthis volume. This section of the book fin-ishes with a comparison between the speciesthat have been studied, and tries to setthem within life history parameters in anevolutionary sense. This section had greatpotential and should have been developedfurther.

The volume then switches from the de-scription of cognitive processes to the evolu-tion of the development of the processes, in-cluding extensive discussions of differenttiming of development, different hypothesesabout development, adaptive significance ofdevelopment, and a number of alternativescenarios for the development of these cog-nitive processes. Although these make in-teresting reading for someone who hasnever thought about any of this before,there is really very little new that goes be-yond previous publications by these au-thors, which is also evidenced by the over-referencing of their own work. The last partof the book is an argument denouncing the

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views of Steven Jay Gould and seemed alittle out of place to this reader.

Overall, the good points of the book arethe complete review of what has been donein cognition in primates, an inclusion ofavailable data in the text, and a 33-pagebibliography. The major detraction of thebook is an over-use of jargon. I realize it is afield where definitions are sometimescloudy, but this attempt to clear things uponly made it more difficult to know who wastalking about what, and some of the usageswere inappropriate (e.g., the use of “Homoerectine” to describe a large number of fos-sils, the present classification of which is indispute). Although the overwhelming jargonmay impress the intelligent layperson(whom I assume is the target audience), itwill probably also prevent them from finish-ing the book.

This volume should be part of the libraryof anyone with a serious interest in cogni-tion as a reference book. If one is on a lim-ited budget, however, the previous books ofthese authors should be a priority for pur-chase.

MARGARAET R. CLARKEDepartment of AnthropologyTulane UniversityNew Orleans, Louisiana

Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution ofEgalitarian Behavior. By ChristopherBoehm. xi + 292 pp. Cambridge, MA: Har-vard University Press. 1999. $39.95 (cloth).

Boehm’s volume does a careful and thor-ough job of exploring an aspect of the politi-cal nature of humans. His thesis is that hu-mans employ a reverse hierarchy to produceegalitarian societies. “The weak combineforces to actively dominate the strong” (p.3). While we have natural tendencies to-wards “despotism,” egalitarian societiescontrol these by the formation of coalitionsthat work at keeping traditional hierarchiesat bay.

What sets this book apart is the wide ar-ray of data Boehm includes in support of histhesis. Although, like sociobiologists, he hasa deep interest in human nature, he makeshis case not by citing a few well-chosen ex-amples, but by an almost encyclopedic sur-vey of the literature on egalitarian human

societies. He also looks at the despotic, andnot so despotic, African great apes, andmakes a thorough attempt at reconstructingthe human political systems of the UpperPaleolithic. Boehm brings unusual creden-tials to this task, having done both ethno-graphic work in Montenegro and ethologicalwork with chimps at the Gombe Stream Re-serve.

His discussion of chimpanzees is based onhis own field notes and the data collected bythe many other researchers who have stud-ied chimps. He describes dominant malechimps as bullies who can intimidate allother group members but have little powerto influence group decisions. This “bully”mode of rule limits the functionality ofchimp groups. Clearly, this mode of organi-zation is not typical of humans living at theband level of organization, who, Boehm ar-gues, employ a more egalitarian mode toproduce cohesive groups.

He considers theories on why only certainhuman groups are egalitarian and thenturns to mechanisms employed to promoteegalitarianism. He provides us with the no-tion of a reverse-dominance hierarchywhere people act cooperatively to ensurethat no leader acquires too much power. Acontinent-by-continent review of huntersand gatherers and tribal people considersall instances located of descriptions of thepolitics of egalitarian groups. He findsworldwide evidence of people controllingleaders by “antiauthoritarian sanctioning”(requiring modesty and a lack of aggressive-ness in leaders), and ostracizing and some-times executing individuals whose behav-iors do not conform. While all “men” want tobe rulers, they realize this is not possible.Because being equal is better than beingdominated, people act to keep aspiring rul-ers in check.

Boehm is ultimately interested in humannature and its evolution. He adapts a scaledeveloped by Vehrencamp for ranking thehierarchical formation of birds and uses iton hominoids. He concludes that the Africangreat apes and band and tribal people(among others) all tend toward the despoticend of the scale. Using this analysis, he at-tempts to reconstruct the political nature ofthe common ancestor of humans and the Af-rican apes. Following the cladistic approachthat has been employed by Richard Wrang-ham, Boehm looks for commonalities amongthese groups and uses them as a basis for

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his putative ancestor. He concludes thatthis ancestor had traditional dominance hi-erarchies (pecking orders) but also the abil-ity to form coalitions to keep despots incheck.

In turning his attention to Upper Paleo-lithic peoples, he proposes the evolution ofambivalent tendencies—human nature isbeing pulled toward egalitarianism andaltruism by within-group (individual) selec-tion and toward variability by between-group selection. This is the most controver-sial section of the book because its claims forthe effects of group selection are far fromuniversally accepted. He attempts a diffi-cult task, explaining the evolution of altru-ism and the development of moral systems.Within groups, the formation of “moral com-munities” selects for altruistic behavior.People simply do not tolerate selfish behav-ior. However, different groups may reachcontrasting decisions on how to react to themany emergencies produced by the climaticvagaries of the Late Paleolithic. Climaticvariability means that no single solution isoptimal and groups with divergent strate-gies can flourish.

What sets the book apart is Boehm’s thor-oughness. First, he reviews evidence fromaround the world and then in theoreticalsections he explores not only his own theo-ries but also plausible alternatives. I did notalways agree with Boehm’s analyses or con-clusions, but I was continually impressedwith his willingness to relate alternativesand to foresee the objections to his work. Hewrites, for example, almost solely aboutmale-only politics, and a lesser authorwould not have bothered to make a case forwhy, or admit that he might be taken totask for this perspective.

The introduction of this book does a goodjob of explaining his thesis and describingthe goals of each chapter. The chapters staysharply focused and provide a great deal ofinformation about the political behaviors ofa variety of groups. Boehm takes great careto build his case in each chapter, and thelevel of detail makes the book slow readingin parts, but it is also a good reference work.

This book should be of interest to anthro-pologists, sociobiologists, and evolutionarypsychologists. It could be used in advancedundergraduate or graduate seminars in po-litical anthropology, human evolution, hu-man nature, and primate behavior. The or-ganization is logical and the writing is clear,

although it occasionally lapses into convo-luted clauses. Nevertheless, its thorough,cross-cultural, and panspecific approachmake it a model for how to approach theevolution of human nature.

CAROL LAUERRollins CollegeWinter Park, Florida

Brief Reviews

The Descent of Mind: Psychological Perspec-tives on Hominid Evolution. Edited by Mi-chael C. Corballis and Stephen E. G. Lea.xii + 361 pp. New York: Oxford UniversityPress. 1999. $65.00 (cloth).

The cognitive features unique to human-ity are explored in this book and a wonder-ful array of perspectives is presented. Cor-ballis and Lea give a history of psychologicalapproaches, and Lea also addresses the evo-lution of hominid intelligence. Corballis re-views the evolution of brains, tool technol-ogy, and gesturing with respect to the fossilrecord. Byrne contrasts the cognitive abili-ties of monkeys, apes, and humans and con-cludes that the Machiavellian intelligencehypothesis cannot fully explain representa-tional understanding. Beran and colleaguespredict hominid intelligence from brain size.King and colleagues believe assessment ofpersonality traits in other individuals iscentral to semantic learning. MacNeilageexamines the conservative brain mecha-nisms that underlie speech production. Don-ald reviews the preconditions for protolan-guage: mimetic skill and a developedcapacity for expressive modeling. Goldin-Meadow and McNeill provide an explana-tion for why humans prefer an oral to amanual modality. Whiten suggests thatwhat sets humans apart is a “deep socialmind.” McManus thoroughly reviews thediscussion on handedness, brain lateraliza-tion, and language. Suddendorf believes hu-mans are uniquely reflective and create a“metamind.” Baron-Cohen reviews how the“theory of mind” may have evolved. Kele-men discusses how teleological intuitionsdevelop in children. Bloom defends themodular adaptationist perspective. Thies-

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sen contrasts individual and social pres-sures on positive assortative mating. Lockends the volume by using a developmentalperspective to reconstruct a late emergencefor language. All essays are clearly writtenand provocative. I recommend it highly foranyone interested in biosocial evolution.

JOAN C. STEVENSONBook ReviewEditor

The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. ByMichael Tomasello. viii + 248 pp. Cam-bridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1999.$29.95 (cloth).

The central thesis of this book is thatwhat makes humans unique is not so muchdue to biological “hard-wiring,” but resultsfrom a biosocial process that takes place asa person develops. He first reviews mammaland primate cognitive skills and notes thatnonhuman primates understand many an-tecedent-consequent relations, but “they donot seem to understand causal forces as me-diating these relations” (p. 22). The learningprocess is significantly different in humansand depends on relatively accurate imita-tive learning that when coupled to innova-tion, produces cultural evolution, which hesees as “an especially powerful form of col-laborative inventiveness or sociogenesis” (p.41). That culture retains its past and passesit to future generations effectively is calledthe “ratchet effect.” Social manipulation ofshared attention starting in infancy is con-sidered central to the learning process andunderlies symbolic representation and itselaboration, whether for discourse or math-ematical reasoning. Thus, he has little usefor brain modules. You may not agree withthe author’s conclusions, but this book de-serves a place on your shelf for the insights

into human ontogeny and cultural evolu-tion.

JOAN C. STEVENSONBook ReviewEditor

Death, Hope and Sex: Steps to an Evolution-ary Ecology of Mind and Morality. By JamesS. Chisholm. xiv + 296 pp. New York: Cam-bridge University Press. 1999. $74.95(cloth), $29.95 (paper).

This wonderful, very readable volumeprovides a dynamic integration of life his-tory theory and elements of evolutionarypsychology. Chisholm states in his prefacethat human nature is a “manifestation ofour reproductive strategies” and that it is“essentially, biologically, adaptively local,contingent, and emergent” (p. xi). Chapter 1examines evolutionary theory as explana-tion, and in Chapter 2 he thoroughly re-views life history theory. “Organisms are akind of hypothesis advanced by their ances-tors (natural selection) about future envi-ronments” (p. 75). In Chapters 3 and 4 heelaborates on how early development, par-ticularly through the attachment process,configures the responses and physiology ofthe adult organism. The attachment processand developing theory of mind provide theindividual with a means of assessing futurerisk and uncertainty in order to determineone’s reproductive value. In Chapter 5 hedescribes specific strategies that develop instressful settings, including the syndromes“Absent Father”, the risk-taking “YoungMale”, and single mothering “Young Fe-male.” The underlying physiology is also ex-plored. His final Chapter 6 is about the im-plications for therapy, practical reason, andethics.

JOAN C. STEVENSONBook ReviewEditor

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© 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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