The Invaders – How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction - Hardcover

Shipman, Pat

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674736761 ISBN 13: 9780674736764

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Humans domesticated dogs soon after Neanderthals began to disappear. This alliance between two predator species, Pat Shipman hypothesizes, made possible unprecedented success in hunting large Ice Age mammals--a distinct and ultimately decisive advantage for human invaders at a time when climate change made both humans and Neanderthals vulnerable.

About this title

Review

Why did the Neanderthals disappear? In a judicious and enthralling account, Shipman makes a compelling case that, as a truly invasive species, humans were the main cause. An original twist adds an accomplice to the scenario: An unexpectedly early prototype of man s best friend proved to be the Neanderthals worst enemy. --Robert D. Martin, A. Watson Armour III Curator of Biological Anthropology, The Field Museum, Chicago"

"According to a leading US anthropologist, early dogs, bred from wolves, played a critical role in the modern human s takeover of Europe 40,000 years ago when we vanquished the Neanderthal locals ... If Shipman is right, she will have solved one of evolution s most intriguing mysteries. --Observer

"I am an admirer of her work; her style is engaging yet authoritative and the pages fly by. The book she co-wrote two decades ago with Alan Walker on the evolution of Homo erectus, The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins, is a popular science classic, and her new book is cast from the same mould. It provides an up-to-date summary of the current thinking about Neanderthal evolution and presents many complex ideas with a great deal of perspicacity and wit. The Invaders offers us the appealing prospect of an expert writing on her specialism and clearly having a great deal of fun doing so [...] Shipman builds an extremely compelling case for the role of Homo sapiens as an invasive species who arrived in Europe about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and had an immediate impact on their new ecosystem [...] There will doubtless be readers who disagree with Shipman s theory and, after all, an unsolved mystery is much more fun than a solution. But the greatest strength of The Invaders lies in its approach to science and the palpable delight that Shipman takes in simply thinking. Remember thinking? Not publishing for the sake of it, not worrying about impact or research excellence framework returns, but taking time to examine data, to consider the big questions and to synthesise across multiple subjects to produce a viable and intellectually satisfying theory. --Times Higher Education

About the Author

Pat Shipman is retired Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674736761
• ISBN 13: 9780674736764
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288