Given the rapidly developing area of evolutionary medicine and public health, The Arc of Life examines ways in which research conducted by biological anthropologists can enrich our understanding of variation in human health outcomes. The book aims?not only to showcase the perspective that biological anthropologists bring to the burgeoning field of evolutionary medicine, but to underscore the context of human life history -- especially the concept of evolutionary trade-offs and the ensuing biological processes that can affect health status over the life course. This dual emphasis on life history theory and life cycle biology will make for a valuable and unique, yet complementary, addition to books already available on the subject of evolution and health.?The book consolidates diverse lines of research within the field of biological anthropology, stimulates new directions for future research, and facilitates communication between subdisciplines of human biology operating at the forefront of evolutionary medicine.
Contents
1. Introduction
Donna J. Holmes, Grazyna Jasienska and Diana Sherry
2. Intergenerational Memories of Past Nutritional Deprivation: The Phenotypic Inertia Model
Christopher W. Kuzawa and Ruby L. Fried
3. Modeling Developmental Plasticity in Human Growth: Buffering the Past or Predicting the Future?
Jonathan Wells and Rufus Johnstone
4. Development of Human Sociosexual Behavior
Peter B. Gray and Matthew H. McIntyre
5. Evolutionary Perspectives on Teen Motherhood: How Young Is Too Young?
Karen L. Kramer
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