摘要：This book by Clive Gamble is another example of his now quintessentially unique perspective on human evolution. Divided into three major parts, which in turn are divided into chapters, the book is well organized and all chapters are briefly but conveniently summarized. Additionally, each of the three major parts is summarized in their own chapters, although the one for Part III is more an epilogue. As expected, these chapters address the issue at heart (that of human identity, perceptions, and evolution) in a broadly chronological manner, with some exceptions. For example, Part I deals with the Neolithic revolution prior to Gamble’s presentation of earlier time periods. This is appropriate because the evolutionary and behavioral significance of the Neolithic were formally recognized long before the idea of Paleolithic ‘revolutions.’ More than the revolutions themselves, Gamble targets the soul of paleoanthropology—human identity and its many facets. The titles of some of these chapters are provocative (e.g., Bodies, instruments and containers; Did agriculture change the world?) and sub-titles also are refreshingly innovative and generally appealing (e.g., Defining the fully modern human: bodies, brains and boats). The text throughout the book is a combination of eloquence blended into a mosaic of clever analogies and useful historical insights. The style of writing encourages the reader to proceed further for more answers as well as newly-raised questions. Using innovative metaphors, Gamble walks the reader through the concepts of change, development, and variation in human evolution and history, rather than simply resorting to temporally constricted cultural revolutions in the traditional sense.
