The second edition of The Human Organism: Explorations in Biological Anthropologycovers essential topics in evolution, including evolutionary theory, basic genetics, primates, paleontology, and human variation. Featuring updated readings, this book uses a variety of materials ranging from Darwin’s original works to popular science writing, to make the information interesting, timely, and relevant. 

The Human Organism teaches students that evolution is pertinent to daily life and that understanding evolutionary concepts can help them make informed health decisions, improve their relationships, and increase their understanding of others. Much of the material was selected specifically to help students see the important connections between evolution and contemporary human existence. This textbook also stimulates critical thinking by choosing material from key players in the field who have challenged conventional interpretations of the evidence. It encourages them to analyze data, research, and conclusions. 

The second edition engages students with activity pages at the end of each chapter. Activities range from map questions to well-crafted crossword puzzles. The Human Organism features over 150 illustrations, photos, and maps. Each chapter has a case study that highlights a controversy relevant to the topic of study to help students grasp abstract concepts and apply them to concrete questions. 

Accessible to students with little or no previous exposure to the subject matter, The Human Organism is well-suited to general education biological anthropology courses.

Elizabeth Weiss earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. She is a professor of anthropology at San José State University, where she teaches courses on human evolution, human variation, primates, mummies, and bioarchaeology. Her research focuses on the study of skeletal anatomy to understand the effects of biology and environment on humans in order to draw conclusions about activity patterns and disease. Dr. Weiss has written three books and over two dozen articles for prestigious anthropology and medical journals including the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, and the Journal of Comparative Human Biology: Homo.