Suggested Readings

Chapter 7: Homo habilis and Cultural Origins

Campbell, B. G., & Loy, J. D. (1995). Humankind Emerging (7th ed.). New York: HarperCollins.

This well-written and lavishly illustrated text has excellent coverage of the earliest hominines.

Ciochon, R. L., & Fleagle, J. G. (Eds.). (1993). The Human Evolution source book. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

This collection of articles by specialists provides a more detailed look at the different theories on early hominine evolution.

Johanson, D., & Shreeve, J. (1989). Lucy’s Child: The discovery of a human ancestor. New York: Avon.

This sequel to Lucy is written in the same engaging style. Although it covers some of the same ground with respect to Australopithecus, its focus is on Homo habilis. Besides giving a good description of this earliest member of the genus Homo, it presents one of the best discussions of the issues concerning when (and why) Homo appeared.