The natural world can be viewed as a continuously changing complex system comprising variable units that do not conform to any stable plan. Within this framework, human evolution is not the story of the past that created Homo sapiens and then handed this account over to written history. It is the ongoing process that shapes us now and will shape us in the future, body and mind. We must understand it in order to survive and be able to direct it to our advantage. The Dynamic Human presents a general theory of how humans function as a multi-individual system embedded in the natural world. The authors employ a unified approach of systems theory to outline forces that direct ongoing human evolution and produce its outcomes in terms of the past, present and future. Readers will find a perspective on the human place in nature, through a brief account of the past human evolution over 10 million years ago, a discussion of the earliest appearance of humans some 2 million years ago, and a description of the mechanisms of the changes in the gene pool of humans from generation-to-generation. Understanding the forces involved in these mechanisms (physical and mental growth and development) may allow us to understand world better. The Dynamic Human presents a simplified perspective on human evolution for all readers interested in a discourse on the origins, nature and future of human beings.

"This book lays out the argument against the labelling of a skeleton found in Indonesia (the 'Hobbit') a 'new species' of human. Maciej Henneberg, international scientist and palaeo-anthropologist, writes of his reaction to the extraordinary claims of a 'new species' find, his quick conclusion that the skeleton is not a new species, and his theory - along with other colleagues - that the skeleton is not only not a new species, but is that of a modern human with a growth disorder, and may only be around 40-50 years old. Based on studies of the teeth, Maciej Henneberg and other scientists believe the 'Hobbit' may have had modern dental work."--Provided by publisher.

When scientists found the remains of a tiny hominid on an Indonesian in 2004, they claimed they found a totally new species of human ancestor (homo floresiensis), and called it a Hobbit. Film crews rolled in and the little creature took the world by storm, but a group of prominent scientists, including Maciej Henneberg and Robert Eckhardt, smelled a rat. They refuted the data—the size and shape of bones, the inferences about height—and they raised fundamental questions about scientific method, revealing cultural and political pressures that lead to the wide acceptance of unsupported theories. The Hobbit Trap describes how the case against the “new species” theory developed and offers an important critique of the species concept in evolution. In this thoroughly updated second edition, the authors include new data and analysis of the Flores fossils, and expand their important analysis of scientific practice, calling for a new movement to reverse the decline in scientific standards and the rise in scientific politics. This lively and important challenge to conventional wisdom is accessible to the general reader and makes a stimulating addition to courses on the history and philosophy of science, evolution and physical anthropology.

Today, it is easy to obtain information about geological, paleontological, archaeological, and biological facts related to human origins from the internet. It is also easy to find interpretations of our evolution, but many are contradictory, superficial, or biased. This book aims to give readers an intellectual framework into which facts related to human evolution, past and present, can be inserted to obtain their understanding and, thus, understanding of our place in nature and our possible futures. This book is not a straightforward narrative on human evolution. It's a collection of free-flowing essays that delve into the complex, dynamic nature of human life and our place in nature. Some information is repeated, not as a flaw, but as a deliberate choice to show how different facts about ourselves can fit into various lines of reasoning, connected by many intersecting feedbacks.

Abstract: Abstract Background: In our modern world, the way of life in nutritional and activity behaviour has changed. As a consequence, parallel trends of an epidemic of overweight and a decline in external skeletal robusticity are observed in children and adolescents. Aim: We aim to develop reference centiles for external skeletal robusticity of European girls and boys aged 0 to 18 years using the Frame Index as an indicator and identify population specific age-related patterns. Methods: We analysed cross-sectional & longitudinal data on body height and elbow breadth of boys and girls from Europe (0-18 years, n = 41.679), India (7-18 years, n = 3.297) and South Africa (3-18 years, n = 4.346). As an indicator of external skeletal robusticity Frame Index after Frisancho (1990) was used. We developed centiles for boys and girls using the LMS-method and its extension. Results: Boys have greater external skeletal robusticity than girls. Whereas in girls Frame Index decreases continuously during growth, an increase of Frame Index from 12 to 16 years in European boys can be observed. Indian and South African boys are almost similar in Frame Index to European boys. In girls, the pattern is slightly different. Whereas South African girls are similar to European girls, Indian girls show a lesser external skeletal robusticity. Conclusion: Accurate references for external skeletal robusticity are needed to evaluate if skeletal development is adequate per age. They should be used to monitor effects of changes in way of life and physical activity levels in children and adolescents to avoid negative health outcomes like osteoporosis and arthrosis