Who are we? What is it about our species that sets us apart from every other living creature, past and present, on this planet? These are perennially compelling questions about human evolution and development that continue to cudgel the best brains on earth. Anthropology seeks to understand the roots of our common humanity, the diversity of cultures and world-views, and the organisation of social relations and practices. If you only have 30 seconds, that is enough time - by reading this book - to meet the ancestors and master the basic ideas, personalities, controversies and future directions of the study of humankind.

Author Biography

Simon Underdown is Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University. He teaches, researches and writes on human evolution, the effect of the environment on humans, paleoepidemeology, the relationship between biology and culture and the development of human intelligence. A former Vice President of the Royal Anthropological Institute he was involved in designing the biological aspects of the A-Level in Anthropology. He is currently Chair of the Society for the Study of Human Biology and a Research Associate of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford.