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Exploring Biological
Anthropology
The Essentials
SE
RB
MONT.

A I
KOS.

S
S

The Modern World


Australia and possessions
China
Denmark and possessions
France and possessions
India and possessions
Italy
Japan and possessions
Netherlands and possessions
New Zealand
Norway and possessions
Portugal and possessions
Russian Federation
Spain and possessions
Turkey
United Kingdom and possessions
United States and possessions
B-H = Bosnia-Herzegovina
BI
A

SOUTH
SUDAN
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Exploring Biological
Anthropology
The Essentials

Fourth Edition

Craig Stanford
University of Southern California

John S. Allen
University of Southern California

Susan C. Antón
New York University

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Stanford, Craig B. (Craig Britton)
Exploring biological anthropology / Craig Stanford, University of Southern California, John S. Allen,
University of Southern California, Susan C. Anton New York University.—Fourth edition.
  pages cm
ISBN 978-0-13-401401-2 (pbk.)
1. Physical anthropology—Textbooks. I. Allen, John S. (John Scott) II. Antón, Susan C. III. Title.
GN25.S74 2017
599.9—dc23
2015035818

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Student:
ISBN-10: 0-13-401401-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-401401-2
A la Carte
ISBN-10: 0-13-432383-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-432383-1
To Our Parents
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Brief Contents
Part I Foundations

1 What Is Biological Anthropology? 1

2 Origins of Evolutionary Thought 12

Part II Mechanisms of Evolution

3 Genetics: Cells and Molecules 30

4 Genetics: From Genotype to Phenotype 59

5 The Forces of Evolution and the Formation of Species 83

6 Human Variation: Evolution, Adaptation, and Adaptability 105

Part III Primates

7 The Primates 141

8 Primate Behavior 178

Part IV The Fossil Record

9 Geology and Primate Origins 200

10 Early Hominins and Australopithecus 242

11 Rise of the Genus Homo 277

12 Archaic Homo sapiens and Neandertals 309

13 The Emergence, Dispersal, and Bioarchaeology of Homo sapiens 342

Part V Biology and Behavior of Modern Humans

14 Evolution of the Brain and Behavior 373

15 Biomedical and Forensic Anthropology 402

Appendix A Primate and Human Comparative Anatomy 441


Appendix B The Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium 446
Appendix C Metric–Imperial Conversions 450

ix
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Contents
Preface xvii DNA Function II: Protein Synthesis 39
About the Authors xxiii DNA Structure II: Chromosomes and Cell
Division 45
Part I Foundations Molecular Tools for Bioanthropological Research 51
Indirect and Direct Research Methods 51
1 What Is Biological Anthropology? 1 PCR, Mitochondrial DNA, and Ancient DNA 52
INNOVATIONS: DNA Barcoding 56
Anthropology and Its Subfields 3
The Scope of Biological Anthropology 3 Summary • Review Questions

The Subfields of Anthropology 4


Paleoanthropology 5 4 Genetics: From Genotype
Skeletal Biology and Human Osteology 6 to Phenotype 59
Paleopathology and Bioarchaeology 6
Forensic Anthropology 7 From Genotype to Phenotype 61
Primatology 8 The ABO Blood Type System 62
Human Biology 9 Obesity: A Complex Interaction 62
The Roots of Modern Biological Anthropology 10 Mendelian Genetics 63
Summary • Review Questions Mendel’s Postulates 65
Linkage and Crossing Over 68
2 Origins of Evolutionary Thought 12 Mutation 68
Point Mutation and Sickle Cell Disease 68
What Is Science? 14
Mutations: Bad, Neutral, and Good 70
The Early Thinkers 15
X-Linked Disorders 72
The Roots of Modern Science 15
Mendelian Genetics in Humans 73
Linnaeus and the Natural Scheme of Life 16
Genetics beyond Mendel 73
The Road to the Darwinian Revolution 16
Polygenic Traits, the Phenotype, and
The Uniformitarians: Hutton and Lyell 18 the Environment 75
The Darwinian Revolution 19 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Popular Mendelism and the
The Galápagos 19 Shadow of Eugenics 76
Refining the Theory of Evolution by Natural
Heritability and IQ Test Score Performance 77
Selection 22
Phenylketonuria: Illustrating Mendelian and Post-Mendelian
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Darwin versus Wallace? 24
Concepts 78
Science and Creationism 26 INNOVATIONS: A New Genetic Era 79
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: What Is Intelligent Design? 27
Genes and Environments 80
Summary • Review Questions Summary • Review Questions

PART II Mechanisms of 5 The Forces of Evolution and the


Evolution Formation of Species 83
3 Genetics: Cells and Molecules 30 How Evolution Works 84
Where Does Variation Come From? 84
The Study of Genetics 32 How Natural Selection Works 85
The Cell 33 Other Ways By Which Evolution Happens 87
Cell Anatomy 34 Classification and Evolution 91
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Cloning Controversies 36 Taxonomy and Speciation 91
DNA Structure and Function 37 What Is a Species? 92
DNA Structure I: The Molecular Level 37 Species Concepts 94
DNA Function I: Replication 39

xi
xii Contents

INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: What’s in a Name? Species Life History Traits 148
Concepts, Genetics, and Conservation 95 Behavioral Traits 149
Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms 96 A Guide to the Nonhuman Primates 150
How Species Are Formed 96 The Strepsirhines 154
The Tempo of Speciation 98 The Haplorhines 157
Adaptation 98 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The Rarest of the Rare 158
Is Everything Adaptive? 99 The New World Monkeys 159
Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium 100 The Old World Monkeys 161
Levels of Selection 101 The Hominoids 163
Inclusive Fitness 102 Primate Ecology 169
Summary • Review Questions INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The Impending Extinction of the
Great Apes? 170

6 Human Variation: Evolution, Diet 171


Adaptation, and Adaptability 105 You Are What You Eat: Dietary and Digestive
Strategies 172
Human Variation at the Individual and Group Levels 107 Diet and Feeding Competition 173
What Is a Population? 107 Territories and Ranges 173
Historical Perspectives on Human Variation 108 Predation 174
Recording Human Variation in Past Civilizations 108 Primate Communities 175
The Monogenism–Polygenism Debate 110 Summary • Review Questions
Race and Racism in the Twentieth Century 111
Changing Attitudes toward Race in Anthropology 112
Deconstructing Racial Features 112
8 Primate Behavior 178
Population Genetics 114 Studying Primates 180
Polymorphisms: ABO and Other Blood Type The Evolution of Primate Social Behavior 181
Systems 114 Social Behavior and Reproductive Asymmetry 182
Gene Flow and Protein Polymorphisms 118 Male Reproductive Strategies 184
INNOVATIONS: Bermuda: Population Genetics of One Female Reproductive Strategies 185
of the Last Places Settled by People 120 Why Are Nonhuman Primates Social? 186
Polymorphisms and Phylogenetic Studies 121 The Paradox of Sociality 187
Polymorphisms and Natural Selection in Human INNOVATIONS: Culture in Nonhuman Primates 188
Populations 123 Types of Nonhuman Primate Societies 191
The Evolution of Lactose Tolerance 123
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The Infanticide Wars 194
Balanced Polymorphisms: Sickle Cell and
Other Conditions 125 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Are Chimpanzees from Mars and
Bonobos from Venus? 196
Adaptation and Adaptability 129
Levels of Adaptability 129 Summary • Review Questions
Heat and Cold 130
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Technology and Extreme
Environments 131
PART IV The Fossil Record
Body Size and Shape 132
Living at High Altitude 133
Skin Color 135
9 Geology and Primate Origins 200
Summary • Review Questions How to Become a Fossil 202
The Importance of Context 203
Stratigraphy 203
PART III Primates The Geologic Time Scale 205
How Old Is It? 208
7 The Primates 141 Relative Dating Techniques 209
The Primate Radiation 143 Calibrated Relative Dating Techniques 211
The Extraordinary Diversity of Nonhuman Primates 143 Chronometric Dating Techniques 212

What Exactly Is a Primate? 144 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Dating Controversies 215
Anatomical Traits 144 INNOVATIONS: Time in a Bottle 216
Contents xiii

Earth in the Cenozoic 219


Continents and Land Masses 219
11 Rise of the Genus Homo 277
The Environment in the Cenozoic 220 Climate and the Evolution of Homo in the Pliocene
Climate Change and Early Primate Evolution 222 and Pleistocene 278
Changes in the Paleocene Related to the Origin Defining the Genus Homo 279
of Primates 223 Earliest Genus Homo 279
Why Primates? 224 Homo habilis (1.9–1.4 mya) 280
True Primates of the Eocene 224 Homo rudolfensis (2.1–1.78 mya) 281
Selective Pressures Favoring the Strepsirhine–Haplorhine Early Tool Use, Hunting, and Scavenging 281
Split 226
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Homo naledi and The Cradle
Climate Change and the Origin of Monkeys and Apes 227 of Humankind 282
The First Monkeys 227
Hunting and Scavenging 285
New World Monkeys 229
Who Was Homo erectus? 286
Old World Monkeys 230
Anatomical Features 286
What Favored the Origin of Anthropoids? 230
Homo erectus versus Homo ergaster 290
The Earliest Apes 231
Homo erectus Around the World 291
Selection Pressures and the Divergence of Monkeys
and Apes 233 African Origins 291
The Monkey’s Tale: What Happened to Primate Diversity The First African Diaspora: Republic of Georgia 294
in the Miocene? 236 Dispersal Into East Asia 295
Molecular Evolution in Primates 236 INNOVATIONS: What’s Size Got to Do with It? 298
A Primate Molecular Phylogeny 237 The Status of Homo erectus in Europe 300
Summary • Review Questions The Lifeways of Homo erectus 301
Homo erectus and the Early Stone Age 301
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The Little People of Flores 302
10 Early Hominins and A Higher-Quality Diet: Homo erectus Subsistence 304
Australopithecus 242 Homo Erectus Life History 304
Homo erectus Leaves Africa 305
Becoming a Biped 243
Summary • Review Questions
Anatomical Changes 244
Constructing the Bipedal Body Plan 247
Will You Know a Hominin When You See One?
The First Hominins? 249
248
12 Archaic Homo sapiens and
Sahelanthropus tchadensis (7.0–6.0 mya) 249
Neandertals 309
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Locomotion of the Last Common Hominin Evolution in the Middle to Late
Ancestor 250 Pleistocene 310
Orrorin tugenensis (6.0 mya) 252 Defining Anatomically Modern Homo Sapiens 311
Ardipithecus ramidus (4.4 mya) and Ardipithecus kadabba Archaic Homo sapiens 312
(5.8–5.2 mya) 253 European Archaic Homo sapiens (H. Heidelbergensis) 312
Selective Pressures and the Origin of Hominins 254 African Archaic Homo sapiens (H. rhodesiensis) 314
Australopithecus and Kin 257 Asian Archaic Homo sapiens 315
Australopithecus anamensis (4.2–3.9 mya) 257 Behavior of Archaic Homo sapiens 315
Australopithecus afarensis (3.9–2.9 mya) 260 Stone Tools 315
INNOVATIONS: Dikika and Development 262 Tools from Organic Materials 316
Other East and West African Hominins Big-Game Hunting 317
(3.5–2.5 mya) 264 Fire, Campsites, and Home Sites 318
Australopithecus africanus (3.5–<2.0 mya) 265 The Neandertals 318
Australopithecus sediba (1.97–1.78 mya) 268 Geographic and Temporal Distribution 319
“Robust” Australopithecus (or Paranthropus) 268 History of Neandertal Discovery 320
Understanding the Australopithecus Radiation 271 Neandertal Anatomy and DNA: Built for the
Cohabitation 271 Cold 321
Tools and Intelligence 272 INNOVATIONS: Neandertal Genes 325
Ancestors and Descendants 274 Growing up Neandertal 327
Summary • Review Questions Health and Disease 327
xiv Contents

Neandertal Behavior 329 Brain Size and the Fossil Record 379
Material Culture 329 Brain Reorganization 382
Coping with Cold 330 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The 10% Myth: Evolution and
Hunting, Subsistence, and Cannibalism 331 Energy 383
Burials 332 Language: Biology and Evolution 383
Ritual and Symbolic Behavior 333 Language in the Brain 384
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: The Denisovans 334 Language in the Throat 385
Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Issues: An Overview 338 Language Ability and the Fossil Record 386
Summary • Review Questions Scenarios of Language Evolution 387
The Evolution of Human Behavior 387
13 The Emergence, Dispersal, and INNOVATIONS: Music, the Brain, and Evolution 388
Bioarchaeology of Homo sapiens 342 The Evolution of Human Behavior: Four Approaches 390
Traditional Lives in Evolutionary Ecological
The Emergence of Modern Humans 344
Perspective 391
Models of Modern Human Origins 345
Wealth, Reproductive Success, and Survival 391
Replacement and Multiregional Models 345
Physiology and Ecology 393
Predictions of the Two Models 345
Hunting, Gathering, and the Sexual Division of Labor 395
Anatomy and Distribution of Early Humans 348
Sexual Selection and Human Behavior 396
Africa 348
Risk-Taking Behavior 397
Near East 349
Inbreeding Avoidance and Incest Taboos 398
Europe 349
Summary • Review Questions
Asia and Southeast Asia 350
Australia 352
Archaeology of Modern Human Origins 353 15 Biomedical and Forensic
Stone and Other Tools 353 Anthropology 402
Subsistence 354
Biomedical Anthropology and the Biocultural
Symbolism, Burial, and Art 355
Perspective 404
Molecular Genetics and Human Origins 356
Birth, Growth, and Aging 405
Mitochondrial DNA 357
Human Childbirth 405
INNOVATIONS: Symbolism and Human Evolution 358 Patterns of Human Growth 406
The Y-Chromosome 360 Stages of Human Growth 407
MRCAs for Nuclear Genes 360 The Secular Trend in Growth 409
Ancient DNA 361 Menarche and Menopause 410
Interpreting Models of Human Origins 362 INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Early Menarche and Later
Paleontology and Archaeology 362 Health 411
Molecular Genetics 363 Aging 412
Bioarchaeology after the Origin of Modern Humans 364 Infectious Disease and Biocultural Evolution 414
Settlement of the New World and Pacific Islands 365 Human Behavior and the Spread of Infectious
Biological Changes at the Origins of Agriculture and Shifts Disease 414
to Sedentism 367 Infectious Disease and the Evolutionary Arms Race 416
INSIGHTS & ADVANCES: Peopling of the New World: Was Diet and Disease 418
Clovis First? 368 The Paleolithic Diet 418
Physical and Cultural Consequences of Colonization 369 Agriculture and Nutritional Deficiency 420
Summary • Review Questions Agriculture and Abundance: Thrifty and Nonthrifty
Genotypes 420

PART V Biology and Behavior Forensic Anthropology, Life, Death, and the Skeleton 421

of Modern Humans Field Recovery and Laboratory Processing 422


The Biological Profile 423

14 Evolution of the Brain and Behavior 373 Age at Death 423


Sex 426
Overview of the Brain 375 Ancestry 427
Issues in Hominin Brain Evolution 377 Height and Weight 427
Humans Have “Large” Brains 377 INNOVATIONS: Ancestry and Identity Genetics 428
Contents xv

Premortem Injury and Disease 430 Appendix A Primate and Human Comparative
Perimortem and Postmortem Trauma 431 Anatomy 441
Identification and Forensic Anthropology 431 Appendix B The Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium 446
Time Since Death 432
Antemortem Records, Facial Reconstruction, and Appendix C Metric–Imperial Conversions 450
Positive IDs 433 Glossary 451
Applications of Forensic Anthropology 434
Bibliogrphy 459
Mass Fatalities 434
War Dead 435 Credits 482
War Crimes and Genocide 435 Index 487
Insights & Advances: If You Have DNA, Why Bother
with Bones? 436
Epilogue 438
Summary • Review Questions
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Preface

W
e are proud to introduce you to the fourth edi- We have made an effort in the fourth edition to pres-
tion of Exploring Biological Anthropology. We ent a concise coverage of the core material of the field,
wrote this book because we felt there was a while preserving a comprehensive coverage of certain
great need for a new textbook that presents the core in- traditionally important topics. For instance, we have in-
formation, concepts, and theories of biological anthropol- cluded a feature on biomedical anthropology, a large
ogy in a modern light. Biological anthropology was once feature (in Chapter 14) on the brain, and behavior and
called physical anthropology, because decades ago the biology of modern people, from the study of foragers
field was mainly about human anatomy, human fossils, (hunter–gatherers) to that of the human psyche (evolu-
and the study of racial variation. Over the past forty years, tionary psychology). There is a discussion of the geolog-
the field has evolved into biological anthropology. Mod- ical background for human paleontology (Chapter 9), and
ern biological anthropology comprises the study of the chapter sections on bioarcheology (Chapter 13) and foren-
fossil record and the human skeleton, the genetics of both sic anthropology (Chapter 15). We have double-page fea-
individuals and populations, our primate relatives, hu- tures in many chapters to present information in a more
man adaptation, and human behavior, among other top- visual way, and we have added new information to this
ics. This fourth edition of Exploring Biological Anthropology edition in the form of new text and figures, as well as spe-
combines up-to-date coverage of the core material with a cial features in some chapters.
modern biological approach that includes fields that have In a field famous for intellectual disagreements over
become major areas of research by biological anthropolo- the meaning of fossils or interpretations of Darwinian the-
gists over the past decade. This core-concepts version of ory, we’ve tried to present the accepted facts and concise
the book is written especially for students needing to ob- descriptions of debates about evidence. There are places
tain a strong grounding in biological anthropology with- where, because of the introductory nature of the text, we
out some of the detail into which our ­original text delved. have not delved deeply into the details of some debates,
We three coauthors conduct our research in the main areas but we have nevertheless tried to balance multiple views
of biological anthropology: the human fossil record ­(Susan of ongoing unresolved questions.
Antón), primate behavior and ­ecology (Craig ­Stanford),
and human biology and the brain (John Allen). This has What’s New in This Edition
allowed us to provide a specialist ­approach to each of the
• In this new edition we emphasize the molecular clas-
broad divisions of the field covered by the text. We are
sification system in our taxonomic discussions. Chap-
­biological anthropologists with extensive backgrounds in
ter 7 has updated information on the latest taxonomic
both biological and social sciences and are both teachers
classification of the apes and hominins. We call hu-
and researchers.
mans and our exclusive ancestors hominins because
In a field changing as rapidly as human evolutionary
this is the currently accepted approach.
science is today, we feel it is critical for active researchers
to produce textbooks that serve the needs of students. In • We provide additions on newly found fossils and tools,
addition to the strong biological orientation of the book, new age estimates in the fossil record, and new ancient
we try to frame questions about humankind in light of DNA results.
our understanding of culture and the ways in which cul- • C hapter 9 provides new art and discussion sur-
ture interacts with biology to create the template for hu- rounding the role and relationships of Miocene
man nature. hominoids.
Undergraduate enrollment in introductory biological • Chapter 10 introduces newly named species A. dey-
anthropology courses has increased sharply because bi- iremeda and discusses new science surrounding the
ological anthropology has become one way to fulfill the diet of robust australopithecines and new ages of
basic natural science requirement at many colleges and the little foot A. africanus skeleton.
universities. We believe the changing field and the new • Chapter 11 introduces the new fossils that push the
audience have created a need for a text such as this one, origin of the genus Homo deeper in time, provides
integrating traditional physical anthropology with a mod- new sections on H. habilis and H. rudolfensis, discuss-
ern Darwinian framework and presented in a concise, es new stone tools that push stone tool manufacture
clear format. back past 3 million years ago, and provides up to

xvii
xviii Preface

the minute information on the newly discovered and topics of natural selection and adaptation. Chapter 6 sur-
named H. naledi from the Rising Star Cave system in veys the field of human adaptation and the ways in which
South Africa. evolutionary forces mold human populations.
• Chapter 12 provides new discussion of the role of Part III, Primates (Chapters 7 and 8), is about the living
archaic H. sapiens in the origin of Neandertals and nonhuman primates. We examine their classification, their
Denisovans and discusses new ancient DNA results anatomical and behavioral adaptations, and their social life.
that show evidence of a Neandertal contribution to We cautiously use the behavior of living monkeys and apes
the fossil modern human genome. to infer what extinct primates, including fossil humans,
• Chapter 13 presents new fossil and genetic evidence may have been like.
related to the origin of modern humans including ev- Part IV, The Fossil Record (Chapters 9 through 13),
idence of Neandertal contributions to early modern describes the anatomical transition from an ape to human
humans in Europe. We also discuss new finds that ancestor and the fossil record for humankind. We begin
illuminate our understanding of the peopling of the with the environmental context in which fossils are found
New World. and describe both the periods of Earth’s history during
• We have developed new Insights & Advances boxes on: which primates arose and the fossil primates themselves.
We include the most extensive discussion in any biological
• P opulation genetics and cultural history (Chapter 6)
anthropology textbook of the geological background nec-
• Locomotion of the last common ancestor of apes and
essary for understanding human evolution (Chapter 9),
humans (Chapter 10)
which has been updated to include new dating techniques
• Homo naledi and The Cradle of Humankind World
and results. In Chapter 10, we examine the anatomical tran-
Heritage site in South Africa (Chapter 11),
sition from an ape to human ancestor and present up-to-
• Early menarche and later health (Chapter 15)
date information on the earliest known hominins in Africa.
In addition, we have substantially updated other boxes Chapter 11 introduces the genus Homo and the causes and
in Chapter 7, 9, 10, and 13 to include new perspectives consequences of dispersal from Africa. Chapters 12 and 13
and findings. cover the more recent hominin fossils, including Neander-
 any chapters have new opening vignettes to give
• M tals, and the origins of our own species. We have tried to
students a different perspective on the research topics provide up-to-the-minute information on the discovery of
presented in each chapter. New or revised vignettes are new human fossils, including new interpretations of the
featured in Chapters 3, 4, 7, 9, and 14, chosen to high- oldest stone tools, Australopithecus sediba, and the newly
light current trends and foundational principles. named A. deyiremeda (Chapter 10); new (and older) fossil
Homo (Chapter 11); a new box on the Homo naledi fossils re-
• In this edition we have thoroughly revised the illustra-
cently describe from the Rising Star Cave system in South
tive timelines provided in Chapters 9, 11, 12, and 13.
Africa (Chapter 11) expanded discussion of archaic H. sapi-
ens and their relationship to later Neandertals (Chapter 12);
and the extensive revision of age estimates of European Ne-
Foundation: Organization
andertal and modern human sites and the earliest peopling
of the Fourth Edition of North America (Chapter 13). We have included interpre-
The book is organized in much the same way that we three tive features and updated art to understand the significance
authors have taught introductory courses in biological an- of all these new finds.
thropology. The theory of evolution by natural selection Part V, Biology and Behavior of Modern Humans
is the unifying aspect of each chapter, and indeed for the (Chapters 14 and 15), is about the biology of modern peo-
entire discipline. Part I, Foundations (Chapters 1 and 2), ple. We include coverage of the brain and biocultural as-
reflects this. The text begins with an overview of the field pects of the lives of traditional foraging people (Chapter 14)
of biological anthropology in the larger context of the so- and the human brain and biocultural issues of biomedical
cial and life sciences, including a brief history of the field. anthropology, as well as a half chapter’s worth on forensic
Chapter 2 reviews the roots of evolutionary thinking and anthropology (Chapter 15), which explains how scientists
how it became central to biological anthropology. Part II, use evolutionary theory and the methods of biological an-
Mechanisms of Evolution (Chapters 3 through 6), reviews thropology to identify human remains from mass disasters
at length the mechanisms of evolution and describes the ap- and victims of crime.
plications of modern genetic research techniques in unrav- The appendices offer a section on the primate skeleton (Ap-
eling some of the mysteries of human evolution. Chapters 3 pendix A), the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (­ Appendix B),
and 4 review cellular, molecular, and population genetics. and metric-to-imperial conversion factors (Appendix C).
Chapter 5 takes the discussion of genetics into modern evo- Student-oriented pedagogy has been maintained in
lutionary theory: the formation of species and the central each chapter. We begin each chapter with a short vignette
Preface xix

depicting the main topic of the chapter. In most cases, one adaptability, including the ABO blood type system, lactase
of the authors has written a short description of an event persistence, and high-altitude genetics. A new box on the
in the life and work of a biological anthropologist or an genetics and cultural history of Bermuda has also been
important historical figure. It might, for example, be about added.
how someone studying human fossils discovers, excavates, As mentioned, in Part IV we keep abreast of new fossil
and analyzes her discovery. Many of these vignettes are discoveries by including figures and discussion of the lat-
new to this edition, chosen to highlight current trends and est finds. This includes additional discussion and ­updated
foundational principles. The vignettes should be used as a illustrations of species timelines (Chapters 9, 11, 12, 13), in-
way to get a feel for the chapter topics and as an enjoyable cluding the relationships among Miocene hominoids, the
and informative reflection on the text material. age of early Homo and the identity and overlap of Nean-
Other features include a detailed margin glossary that dertals and modern humans. New fossil hominins, sites,
defines new terms as students encounter them and a com- and discoveries are featured in Chapters 11 through 13, in-
plete glossary at the back of the book. Each chapter ends cluding interpretations of new Australopithecus deyiremeda,
with a summary and review questions. At the end of the older ages for A. africanus, stone tools that only australo-
book, the bibliography contains all the references used and pithecines could have made, the Rising Star expedition, the
cited in the text. oldest fossils of genus Homo, the relationship between the
Denisovans and archaic Homo sapiens, new modern human
Innovation: New and Continuing fossils from Siberia, and ancient DNA evidence of Neander-
tal contributions to H. sapiens genomes.
Features There are also changes and updates in the chapters on
In earlier editions of Exploring Biological Anthropology, we contemporary human biology and behavior. Chapter 14
tried to include topics not covered in many of the existing has a new opening vignette, expanded discussion of scal-
texts while preserving a comprehensive coverage of tradi- ing factors in brain evolution, an update on hyoid bone
tional topics. In the fourth edition, we have relied on in- anatomy and the evolution of spoken language, and new
structor and student feedback as well as new events in the sections on progesterone and premenstrual syndrome and
field to make further changes. the relationship between male violence and sexual compe-
Following the growing scientific consensus in biologi- tition. Chapter 15 includes an extensive update on anorexia
cal anthropology, we have adopted the molecularly based nervosa and a new box on the long-term health effects of
terminology for grouping humans and our ancestors—now early menarche.
referring to us and our exclusive ancestors as hominins We have added to our boxes (now called Insights &
rather than hominids. Advances) in each chapter. These insets expand on text
By popular demand, forensic anthropology (a topic not material or call your attention to current events connected
traditionally covered in introductory biological anthropol- to our field, to emerging debates, or sometimes just to fas-
ogy texts) has been expanded and included in Chapter 15, cinating side stories. Some chapters feature entirely new
Biomedical and Forensic Anthropology. Field recovery boxes (Chapters 5, 6, 10, 11, 15), and others are substantially
methods, identification techniques, and applications of both rewritten and updated as new research has become avail-
bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology are described in able (Chapters 7, 9, 10, 13).
a way that will appeal to students. Bioarcheology, which A feature called Innovations is included in select chap-
­includes a discussion of the consequences of colonization ters. This feature provides an intense visual presentation
and agriculture and peopling of the Pacific, is covered in of new, burgeoning areas of research in our field. These re-
Chapter 13, The Emergence, Dispersal, and Bioarchaeology search areas include the following:
of Homo sapiens. This section includes a special focus on the
newest evidence for a pre-Clovis occupation of North Amer- Chapter 3: DNA Barcoding
ica and the breathtaking discoveries of fossil humans and Chapter 4: A New Genetic Era
ancient DNA from Mexico and the United States that illumi-
Chapter 8: Culture in Nonhuman Primates
nate our understanding of the peopling of the New World.
Chapter 9: Time in a Bottle
Chapter 1 includes a visual feature that discusses the
four fields of anthropology. The text, illustrations, and de- Chapter 10: Dikika and Development
sign all help to make this content come alive for students. Chapter 11: What’s Size Got to Do with It?
Chapters 3 and 4 include numerous recent updates on Chapter 12: Neandertal Genes
human molecular genetics and genomics, including new
Chapter 13: Symbolism and Human Evolution
and revised opening vignettes. Chapter 6 includes up-
dates concerning the recent impact of new molecular ge- Chapter 14: Music, the Brain, and Evolution
netic studies on aspects of human population genetics and Chapter 15: Ancestry Genetics
xx Preface

The Summary at the end of every chapter provides a a generation of young scholars. Some of these choices are
review for students organized around the chapter headings modest. For instance, we use the modern American spelling
and learning objectives so students can then refer back into Neandertal instead of the more traditional European spelling
the chapter for a more extensive review. The summary fin- Neanderthal. Other language choices are more central to the
ishes with questions correlated to the learning objectives subject matter. Perhaps the most significant choice we have
for students to test their comprehension. made in recent years relates to primate classification. Al-
though the primate order historically has been subdivided
Illustrations into anthropoids (the apes and monkeys, including us) and
prosimians (the “lower” primates, including lemurs, gala-
Illustrations play a major role in any textbook, and they
gos, lorises, and tarsiers), this dichotomy does not reflect
are crucial learning tools in introductory science texts. The
the currently understood molecular relationships among
publisher and authors have worked together to provide
groups of primates. We have therefore divided the primates
you with the best possible photos and drawings of every
into the suborders haplorhines and strepsirhines, a concept
topic covered in the book. The fourth edition features more
familiar to current graduate students but perhaps not to in-
than fifty anatomical illustrations especially prepared for
structors who have taught the former approach for many
this text by medical illustrator Joanna Wallington. These
years. Haplorhines include all anthropoids and tarsiers,
drawings provide superior detail and anatomical accuracy
and strepsirhines include all prosimians except tarsiers. We
and enhance student insight into the morphological fea-
use the terms strepsirhine and haplorhine rather than prosim-
tures of importance in human evolution.
ian and anthropoid. Similarly, following the growing scien-
This fourth edition also includes illustrations in the
tific consensus in biological anthropology, we have adopted
genetics chapters that were inspired by the tenth edition
the molecularly based terminology for grouping humans
of Concepts of Genetics by Klug, Cummings, Spencer, and
and our ancestors—now referring to us and our exclusive
­Palladino. Illustrations throughout the book reflect this style.
ancestors as hominins rather than hominids. We discuss both
Most of the photographs of living primates, fossils,
in some depth in Chapter 6.
and fossil sites were taken by one of the authors or were
contributed by other biological anthropologists—and many
of these have been updated and enhanced in this edition. Regarding Abbreviations and Time
Pearson has worked hard to produce some of the finest im-
Because of the plethora of sometimes conflicting abbre-
ages of everything from molecular genetics to stone tools
viations used to refer to time throughout the text, we
that have ever been published in a biological anthropology
have attempted to spell out time ranges (e.g., “millions
textbook. The maps have been specifically created for this
of years ago” or “thousands of years ago”). Where this is
book by Dorling Kindersley, a leading publisher of atlases
not feasible, such as in tables, we use the abbreviations
for both the educational and consumer markets. These
most common to anthropology textbooks (mya for “mil-
maps describe the geography of everything from the distri-
lions of years ago” and kya for “thousands of years ago”).
bution of living primates in the world today to the locations
However, students should note that the standard usage
of the continents in the distant past. We authors worked
in geology and paleontology is Ma (mega-annum) and ka
with Pearson to be sure everything in the fourth edition is
(kilo-annum).
depicted accurately and clearly, and we hope you will gain
a better understanding of the science by studying the visual
material as well. REVEL
Along with the new Innovations features, additional
Educational technology designed for the way today’s stu-
special two-page figures appear in a number of chapters, es-
dents read, think, and learn
pecially in Part IV, and provide a snapshot of evolutionary
development through time. These special figures provide a When students are engaged deeply, they learn more effec-
concise way for the reader to easily grasp the evolutionary tively and perform better in their courses. The simple fact
changes through a vast sweep of time that are presented in inspired the creation of REVEL: an immersive learning ex-
greater detail in the text, and they have been updated with perience designed for the way today’s students read, think,
new photo imagery and new finds. and learn. Built in collaboration with educators and stu-
dents nationwide, REVEL is the newest, fully digital way
to deliver respected Pearson content.
A Note about Language REVEL enlivens course content with media interactives
Authors must make decisions about language and termi- and assessments—integrated directly within the authors’
nology, and textbook authors make those choices with the ­n arrative—that provide opportunities for students to
knowledge that they may be influencing the mind-set of read about and practice course material in tandem. This
Preface xxi

immersive educational technology boosts student engage- Acknowledgments


ment, which leads to better understanding of concepts and
Textbooks require the collaboration of many people with
improved performance throughout the course.
many areas of expertise, and this book makes good use of
Learn more about REVEL
all of those involved. The process begins with each author
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/
compiling his or her notes from years of teaching biological
anthropology and thinking about how the course could be
Support for Instructors and Students taught more effectively. Over the years, the students in our
courses have helped us to assess what did and did not work
The ancillary materials that accompany Exploring Biological
in conveying the information and excitement of biological
Anthropology, Fourth Edition are part of a complete teaching
anthropology, and for this we are extremely grateful. For her
and learning package and have been carefully created to
vision and steady guidance over the past decade, we are most
enhance the topics discussed in the text.
grateful to Nancy Roberts, our former publisher at Pearson.
Instructor’s Resource Manual with Tests (0134014065): For We thank our current publisher, Charlyce Jones-Owen, and
each chapter in the text, this valuable resource provides a our development editor, David Ploskonka, for their work
detailed outline, list of objectives, discussion questions, and on the current edition. Cheryl Keenan, production liaison
suggested readings and videos. In addition, test questions at Pearson, and Nancy Kincade at Lumina Datamatics did
in multiple-choice, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, and short-­ a remarkable job coordinating the entire process, especially
answer formats are available for each chapter; the answers given the logistics of working with three different authors.
are page-referenced to the text. For easy access, this manual For contributing photos and published or unpub-
is available within the instructor section of M ­ yAnthroLab lished material to help in writing the text, we thank Brad
for Exploring Biological Anthropology, Fourth Edition, or at Adams, Takeru Akazawa, Shara Bailey, Antoine Balzeau,
www.pearsonhighered.com/irc. Lee Berger, Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro, Christopher
Boehm, David Brill, Peter Brown, Joel Bruss, Jennie Clark,
MyTest (013401412X): This computerized software allows in-
Christian Crowder, Hanna Damasio, Chris Dean, Anna
structors to create their own personalized exams, to edit any
Delaney, Eric Delson, Todd Disotell, Craig Feibel, Jens
or all of the existing test questions, and to add new questions.
Franzen, Ken Garrett, John Hawks, Lynn Isbel, Jorn Jur-
Other special features of this program include random gen-
strum, Rich Kay, Bill Kimbel, John Krigbaum, Meave
eration of test questions, creation of alternate versions of the
Leakey, David Lordkipanidze, Laura McClatchy, Mela-
same test, scrambling question sequence, and test preview
nie McCollum, The National Museum of Kenya, Maria
before printing. For easy access, this software is available for
­Martinon-Torres, Lisa Matisoo-Smith, William McComas,
download at www.pearsonhighered.com/irc.
Monte McCrossin, Salvador Moya-Sola, Jackson Njau, The
PowerPoint Presentation for Biological Anthropology National Museum of Kenya, Amy Parish, OsBjorn Pearson,
(0134014219): These PowerPoint slides combine text and Briana Pobiner, Rick Potts, Allysha Powanda, Tim Ryan,
graphics for each chapter to help instructors convey anthropo- Paul Sledzik, Josh Snodgrass, Fred Spoor, Carl Swisher,
logical principles in a clear and engaging way. For easy access, Judy Suchey, Ian Tattersall, Christian Tryon Brent Turrin,
they are available for download at www.pearsonhighered. Peter Ungar, Bence Viola, Alan Walker, Mike Waters, Randy
com/irc. White, Tatiana White, Andrea Wiley, and Milford Wolpoff.
All three of us cut our teeth teaching introductory bio-
Method and Practice in Biological Anthropology: A Work-
logical anthropology as graduate students apprenticing as
book and Laboratory Manual for Introductory Courses,
teaching assistants (TAs) at the University of California at
Second Edition (0133825868): Designed to complement a
Berkeley. Our fellow TAs shared their ideas and our tasks,
wide variety of introductory level laboratory courses in bio-
for which we are thankful. We are most grateful to the tri-
logical anthropology, this new manual written by Samantha
umvirate of faculty with whom we apprenticed in the class-
Hens of California State University, Sacramento provides
room and from whom we learned much about the subject
optimum flexibility to suit almost all laboratory environ-
matter, how to teach it, and how an introductory course can
ments. The manual is divided into four sections, reflecting
be made a rewarding, enriching experience for undergrad-
the typical design of introductory courses in biological an-
uates. Our heartfelt thanks go to Katharine Milton, Vincent
thropology: genetics and evolution, the human skeleton,
Sarich, and Tim White.
the nonhuman primates, and our fossil ancestors. Each
Graduate teaching assistants in our own courses at the
chapter has similar pedagogical elements, beginning with a
University of Southern California, the University of Auck-
list of chapter objectives, an array of topical lab exercises to
land, the University of Florida, Rutgers University, and
choose from, and a set of pre- and post-lab questions. For
New York University brought new enthusiasm and ideas,
more information, please contact your local Pearson sales
and we are grateful to them all.
representative.
xxii Preface

This fourth edition grew out of the comments of review- Columbus State Community College; Elisabeth Stone,
ers who helped to create Exploring Biological Anthropol- University of New Mexico & UNM Branch at Gallup;
ogy, as well as those who read earlier editions of Biolog- Charles Townsend, LaGuardia Community College/
ical Anthropology. Janet Altamirano, WCJC and UHD; CUNY; Mark Tromans, Broward College; Melissa Vo-
Douglas Anderson, Front Range Community College; gel, Clemson University; Erin Waxenbaum, North-
Jennifer Basquiat, College of Southern Nevada; Cyn- western University; Katherine Weisensee, Clemson
thia Bellacero, Craven Community College; Jacob Boyd, University; Leanna Wolfe, Los Angeles Valley College;
University of Kansas; Victor Braitberg, University of Ar- Cassady Yoder, Radford University.
izona; Autumn Cahoon, Sierra College; Walter Calgaro,
Prairie State College; Bambi Chapin, UMBC; Wanda For their constructive reviewing of earlier editions,
Clark, South Plains College; Craig Cook, Crown Col- we thank Robert L. Anemone, Western Michigan
lege; Cathy Cooke, Columbus State Community College; ­U niversity; John R. Baker, Moorpark College; Art
Pearce Creasman, Central Texas College. Barbeau, West Liberty State College; Anna Bellisari,
Wright State University; Wendy Birky, California State
Douglas Crews, Ohio State University; Stephen Criswell, University, Northridge; Ann L. Bradgon, Northwest
University of South Carolina Lancaster; Marie Dan- College, Houston Community College System; Pearce
forth, University of Southern Mississippi; Alexa Diet- Paul C ­ reasman, Blinn College; William Doonan,
rich, Wagner College; Anna Dixon, University of South ­Sacramento City College; David W. Frayer, University of
Florida—St. Petersburg; Amy Donovan, UCSF and Kansas; Renée Garcia, Saddleback College; Peter Gray,
Santa Clara University; Meredith Dorner, Saddleback University of Nevada—Las Vegas; Jonathan P. Karpf,
College; Arthur Durband, Texas Tech University; David San Jose State University; Sarah A. C. Keller, Eastern
H. Dye, University of Memphis; Alison Elgart, Florida Washington University; Roger Kelly, Foothill College;
Gulf Coast University; Burhan Erdem, University of Andrew Kinkella, Moorpark College; Andrew Kramer,
Arkansas; Monica Faraldo, University of Miami; Robert University of Tennessee; John R. Lukacs, University of
Goodby, Franklin Pierce University; Jane Goodman, In- Oregon; Jane A. Margold, Santa Rosa Junior College;
diana University; Mark Gordon, Pasadena City College; Debra L. Martin, University of Nevada—Las Vegas;
Carol Hayman, Austin Community College; Deanna Paul McDowell, Santa Barbara City College; Peer H.
Heikkinen, College of the Canyons; Keith Hench, PhD, Moore-Jansen, Wichita State University; Leanne T. Nash,
Kirkwood Community College. Arizona State University; Kaoru Oguri, California State
University, Long Beach; Robert R. Paine, Texas Tech
Kathryn Hicks, The University of Memphis; John Hines, University; Jill D. Pruetz, Iowa State University; Ulrich
Point Park University; Sarah Holt, Ohio State Univer- Reichard, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale;
sity; Jayne Howell, CSULB; Kendi Howells Douglas, Trudy R. Turner, University of Wisconsin, Milwau-
Great Lakes Christian College; Douglas Hume, North- kee; J. Richard Shenkel, University of New Orleans;
ern Kentucky University; Francisca James Hernandez, Lynnette Leidy Sievert, University of Massachusetts—
Pima Community College; Nick Johnson, Ivy Tech Amherst; Larissa Swedell, Queens College—CUNY;
Community College; Sarah Koepke, Elgin Community Salena Wakim, Orange Coast College; Richard E.
College; Ailissa Leroy, Florida Atlantic University; Mi- Wa rd , I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y – P u rd u e U n i v e r s i t y
chael Love, California State University, Northridge; Co- ­Indianapolis; Daniel J. Wescott, University of Missouri—
rey Maggiano, Ohio State University; Michael Masters, Columbia; Bruce P. Wheatley, University of Alabama—­
Montana Tech; Patricia Mathews, Borough of Manhat- Birmingham; Amanda Wolcott Paskey, Cosumnes River
tan Community College; Meghan McCune, Jamestown College; Leanna Wolfe, Los Angeles Valley College; and
Community College; Britney McIlvaine, The Ohio State Linda D. Wolfe, East Carolina University.
University; Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, Western Illi-
nois University; Susan Meswick, Queens College; Sha- We’ve made a great effort to produce a comprehensive
ron Methvin, Mt. Hood Community College; Krista and fully accurate text, but as is always the case, errors may
Milich, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign; remain. We would be grateful for comments or corrections
Jennifer Molina-Stidger, Sierra College; John Navarra, from students and instructors using Exploring Biological
University of North Carolina Wilmington; ChorSwang Anthropology, Fourth Edition. And we hope you find this ac-
Ngin, California State University, Los Angeles; Joshua count of human evolution as fascinating and compelling as
Noah, University of Arkansas; Jana Owen, Ozarks we do.
Technical Community College; Amanda Paskey, Cos- Craig Stanford
umnes River College; Elizabeth Perrin, The Ohio State stanford@usc.edu
University; Mark Peterson, Miami University; Michael
www.craigstanford.org
Polich, McHenry County College; Suzanne Simon,
John S. Allen
University of North Florida; Lakhbir Singh, Chabot
Susan C. Antón
College; Burt Siskin, LA Valley College; Micah Soltz,
http://csho.as.nyu.edu/
About the Authors
Craig Stanford is a Professor of Anthropology and Bio- university awards for teaching introductory courses in bi-
logical Sciences at the University of Southern California, ological anthropology both as a graduate student instruc-
where he also co-directs the Jane Goodall Research Cen- tor at the University of California and as a faculty member
ter and chairs the Department of Anthropology. He has at the University of Auckland. In addition to Biological An-
conducted field research on primates and other animals thropology, he is also the author of Medical Anthropology:
in south Asia, Latin America, and East Africa. He is well A Biocultural Approach (with Andrea S. Wiley; second edi-
known for his long-term studies of meat-eating among tion, 2013), The Lives of the Brain: Human Evolution and the
wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, and of the ecol- Organ of Mind (2009), The Omnivorous Mind: Our Evolving
ogy of mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in the Impen- Relationship with Food (2012), and Home: How Habitat Made
etrable Forest of Uganda. He has authored or coauthored Us Human (2015). John and his wife, Stephanie Sheffield,
more than 130 scientific publications. Craig has received have two sons, Reid and Perry.
USC’s highest teaching awards for his introductory Bi-
ological Anthropology course. In addition, he has pub- Susan Antón is a professor in the Center for the Study
lished sixteen books on primate behavior and human or- of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology at New
igins, including Beautiful Minds (2008) and Planet Without York University, where she also directs the M.A. program
Apes (2012). He and his wife, Erin Moore, a cultural an- in Human Skeletal Biology. Her field research concerns
thropologist at USC have three children. the evolution of genus Homo in Indonesia and human im-
pact on island ecosystems in the South Pacific. She is best
John Allen is a research scientist in the Dornsife Cogni- known for her work on H. erectus in Kenya and Indone-
tive Neuroscience Imaging Center and the Brain and Cre- sia, for which she was elected as a fellow of the American
ativity Institute at the University of Southern California. Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She
He is also Research Associate in the Department of An- is the President of the American Association of Physical
thropology, Indiana University. Previously, he was a neu- Anthropologists and past editor of the Journal of Human
roscience researcher at the University of Iowa College of Evolution. She received awards for teaching as a graduate
Medicine and a faculty member in the Department of An- student instructor of introductory physical anthropology
thropology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and anatomy at the University of California, was Teacher
for several years. His primary research interests are the of the Year while at the University of Florida, and received
evolution of the human brain and behavior, and behav- a Golden Dozen teaching award and the Distinguished
ioral disease. He also has research experience in molecu- Teaching Medal from NYU. She has been twice elected to
lar genetics, nutritional anthropology, and the history of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Susan and her hus-
anthropology. He has conducted fieldwork in Japan, New band, Carl Swisher, a geochronologist, raise Anatolian
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Palau. He has received shepherd dogs.

xxiii
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Chapter 1
What Is Biological
Anthropology?

Learning Objectives
1.1 Identify the subfields of anthropology and explain their
applications to the study of the human species.
1.2 Explain the subfields of biological anthropology and discuss how
they try to answer key questions about the human species.
1.3 Review the development of biological anthropology in the United
States, including its change in focus over time.

1
2 Chapter 1

A
brilliant orange sun rises above a dusty plain in Ethiopia. The parched land-
scape will be unbearably hot by mid-morning, so there is no time to lose. The
team of scientists, students, and assistants set off on a predetermined route
that takes them over craggy hills and into steep ravines. As they walk, they stare at the
ground, hoping to spot any bit of fossilized bone that the slanted morning sun may
illuminate. It is tedious, sweaty work, usually without any reward to show for it. But
this morning, one of the Ethiopian assistants, an older man famed for his ability to dis-
tinguish fossils from the thousands of rocks and pebbles strewn around them, spots
something. He calls the team leader over, and as soon as she crouches to examine the
small fragment emerging from the soil, she knows it is a primate. Gently brushing
away a bit of soil, she gasps; what emerges appears to be the upper arm bone of a tiny
ancient human. The team immediately maps the spot for the work of unearthing the
fossilized skeleton of a fossil hominin.
Five hundred kilometers away, a different kind of scientist is also eagerly searching
for primates. He is crawling nimbly through dense thickets in Gombe National Park,
Tanzania, trying to find the party of chimpanzees that he was following all morning.
They travel faster than he can in the thick undergrowth, and by the time he catches up
to them, they’ve climbed a massive fig tree and are gobbling mouthfuls of the fruits.
The scientist maps the location with his GPS device, then pulls out a notebook and
begins recording the behavior of each of the chimpanzees. Most are eating figs, but
a few infants play together. When one male tries to grab a fig from another’s hand,
a chaotic fight breaks out. Only when the alpha male arrives and charges through
the apes in the tree canopy does order get restored, and the chimpanzees finish their
morning meal.
On the other side of the world, a third scientist sits in front of a computer screen
watching brain activity in bright reds and greens. In the next room, a musician—a
famed cellist—sits in a functional MRI machine, listening to cello music piped in. As
he listens, particular areas of the cortex of his brain light up, while other areas remain
dim. His brain is hearing and processing the sound, and it’s doing it in a way that
reveals aspects of the inner working of the human mind. By moving the screen cursor,
the scientist can study the brain’s surface from every possible angle, making virtual
slices through it to study its internal organization. He hopes to make a visual por-
trait of the musician’s brain activity while listening to music, and in doing so to better
understand the intense creativity that separates us from our primate relatives.

What do these three scientists—one studying ancient fossils, another observing pri-
mate behavior, and the third studying the evolution of the human brain—all have in
common? They are biological anthropologists, engaged in the scientific study of hu-
primate mankind (from anthropos, meaning “human,” and ology, “the study of”). Despite our
Member of the mammalian order exalted intellect, our mind-boggling technology, and our intricately complex social be-
Primates, including prosimians,
havior, we are nonetheless biological creatures. Humans are primates and share a re-
monkeys, apes, and humans,
cent ancestry with the living great apes. Like the apes, we are the products of millions
defined by a suite of anatomical
of years of evolution by natural selection.
and behavioral traits.
The famed geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky once said, “Nothing in biology
evolution makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Biological anthropologists spend their
A change in the frequency of a careers trying to understand the details of the evolutionary process and the ways in
gene or a trait in a population over which it has shaped who we are today. They use a central, unifying set of biological
multiple generations. principles in their work, first set down by Charles Darwin nearly 150 years ago. The
biological anthropology frequency of a particular trait and the genes that control it can change from one gener-
The study of humans as biological ation to the next; this is evolution. This elegantly simple idea forms the heart and soul
organisms, considered in an evo- of biological anthropology.
lutionary framework; sometimes The evolutionary process usually is slow and inefficient, but over many genera-
called physical anthropology. tions it can mold animals and plants into a bewildering variety of forms. Our ancestry
What Is Biological Anthropology? 3

includes many animals that little resemble us today. Biological anthropology is hominin
­particularly concerned with the evolutionary transformations that occurred over the A member of the primate
past 6 million years, as an ape-like primate began to walk on two legs and became ­family Hominidae, distinguished
something different: a hominin. From the perspective of evolutionary theory, humans by ­bipedal posture and, in
are like all other biological species, the product of the same long process of adaptation. more ­recently evolved species,
a large brain.
adaptation
Anthropology and Its Subfields A trait that increases the
reproductive success of an
1.1 Identify the subfields of anthropology and explain their applications to the organism, produced by natural
study of the human species. selection in the context of a
Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its forms. But of course, this would particular environment.

not distinguish it from other disciplines that study the human condition, such as anthropology
­psychology, history, and sociology. The critical aspect of anthropology that sets it The study of humankind in a
apart is its cross-cultural, holistic nature. That is, we try to understand the inner cross-cultural context. Anthropol-
­workings of a group of people who hold worldviews, values, and traditions that are ogy includes the subfields cultural
different from ours. The unusual thing about the human animal is that we have anthropology, linguistic anthro-
­culture. Although it often seems that anthropologists spend their careers arguing pology, archaeology, and biological
about how to define culture, we can say simply that culture is the sum of the learned anthropology.

traditions of a group of people. Language is culture (although the ability to use culture
­language is biological), as is religion, as are the way people dress and the food they The sum total of learned
eat. These human behaviors may vary greatly from one culture to the next. However, traditions, values, and beliefs
what about the universal taboo on incestuous relations with one’s siblings, or the that groups of people (and a
observation that across many human societies, women tend to marry older men? Are few species of highly intelligent
these common threads of human cultures the result of learned traditions, passed down animals) possess.

across the generations, or is there a biological influence at work? As we will see, the
interplay between biology and culture provides many of the most intriguing and per-
plexing clues about the roots of our humanity. It also creates many of the most intense
debates; for decades, scholars have debated whether genes or the environment have
played the more important role in molding intelligence and other human qualities.
The dichotomy between biological and cultural influences on humankind is a
false one, as we examine in detail later in the book. In earliest humans, biological evo-
lution produced the capacity for culture: Intelligence had to evolve before learned tra-
ditions such as tool use could flourish, as we see in wild apes today. Our biology
produced culture, but culture can also influence biology. We study these patterns
under the rubric of biocultural anthropology. biocultural anthropology
Anthropology is divided into four subfields: biological anthropology, cultural The study of the interaction
anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. Some anthropologists con- between biology and culture,
sider linguistics and archaeology to be subfields within cultural anthropology. In which plays a role in most human
addition, applied anthropology—a method more than a discipline—is sometimes con- traits.
sidered a fifth subfield. The majority of practicing anthropologists in the United States
are cultural anthropologists, who typically make up more than half of the faculty of
anthropology departments in universities and who also are employed in a variety of
nonacademic settings, as you will see in this section.

The Scope of Biological Anthropology


1.2 Explain the subfields of biological anthropology and discuss how they try to
answer key questions about the human species.
The scope of biological anthropology is broader than the study of primates, fossils, and
brain evolution. Any scientist studying evolution as it relates to the human species,
directly or indirectly, could be called a biological anthropologist. ­Biological ­anthropology
includes a number of related disciplines (Figure 1.1 on page 5).
4 Chapter 1

The Subfields of Anthropology


Cultural anthropology is the study of human societies in a culture form the basis for the analysis and interpretation of
cross-cultural perspective. The amazing variety of ways in ancient cultures.
which people lead their daily lives is at the heart of the field. Archaeologists
Ethnology, one of the subfields of cultural anthropology, is work at sites all over
the study of human societies and of the behavior of people the world, studying
within those societies. The practice of ethnology is called time periods from
ethnography (literally, “the describing of culture”). A written the advent of stone
account of the initiation rituals of street gangs in Los Angeles tools 2.5 million
is an example of ethnography; another is the study of how years ago until the
parents in Boston care for their children relative to parenting much more recent
among the Sherpas of highland Nepal. past. ­Prehistoric
­archaeologists study cultures that did not leave any re-
corded written history—from the early hominins to the
preliterate ­antecedents of modern cultures from Hawaii
to Africa. ­Historical archae­ologists study past civilizations
that left a written record of their existence, whether in the
­hieroglyphics of Egyptian tombs, the ­Viking runes scratched
onto rock across northern
­Europe, or the diaries kept
by the colonial settlers of
New England. Other archae-
ologists study Revolutionary
War battlefields or sites of
former slave plantations in
an effort to understand how
people lived and structured
their societies.

Linguistic anthropology is the study of the form, func-


tion, and social context of language. Linguistic anthropolo-
gists usually are more interested in language use and the role
that language plays in shaping culture than they are in the Biological anthropology is vastly broader than the study
technical aspects of language structure. An anthropological of primates, fossils, and brain evolution. Any scientist studying
linguist might study the aspects of Black English that set it evolution as it relates to the human species, directly or indi-
apart from mainstream and be interested in the roots of Black rectly, could be called a biological anthropologist. Biological
English on slave plantations and in West Africa. anthropology includes paleoanthropology, skeletal biology
Archaeology is the study of how people used to live, and osteology, paleopathology, forensic anthropology, prima-
based on the materials, or artifacts, they left behind. These tology, and human biology.
artifacts, art, implements, and other objects of material
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When Mr. Taft got back to Washington he found the following
letter from Mr. Root, which completes the triangle of this mutual
admiration society of the Three Musketeers:
Dear Porthos:

I have been disappointed that your most important and admirable speech in
Idaho has not been more freely published and commented on in the East. I have
just suggested to the Editor of The Outlook that he ought to print it in extenso and
call attention to it. He will apply to you directly for it and I hope you will let him
have it.
I am going to start Saturday afternoon to be away for a week, and if you see any
gaping lids about my Department in the meantime, please sit on them gently.

Faithfully yours,
Elihu Root.

“Sitting on the lid” was not in any sense the stationary and
reposeful performance the expression seems to suggest. Before Mr.
Taft returned to Washington from a tour of inspection of brigade
posts, which followed immediately upon his trip to Idaho, Mr.
Roosevelt had gone to Panama, leaving behind him various
questions, including the one which resulted from the discharge
without honour of the three companies of coloured troops at
Brownsville, Texas, for the Secretary of War to keep within bounds
until his return. Then there were many matters of a purely executive
nature which, as long as they did not require the signature of the
President himself, Mr. Taft was authorised and expected to dispose
of. And with the Secretary of State also absent, his office became
government headquarters, practically, where foreign Ambassadors,
Senators and officials of other Departments had to take their chances
of an interview along with visitors or representatives from the
Philippines, Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico, Alaska and the Canal Zone,
and with Army officers and War Department clerks.
I finally gave up all idea of ever getting him home to luncheon, but
we nearly always had a dinner engagement, so along about the hour
when I knew he would have just time to rush home and dress I would
call him on the telephone. And then, if I were fortunate enough to get
him without a disgraceful delay, he almost invariably came in,
followed by an extra private secretary bearing a large portfolio of
papers to be disposed of before such hour as he chose to consider
bedtime.
The winter of 1906–7 was too busy to remember as anything
except a sort of hazy nightmare lightened in spots by contemplation
of the delightful possibilities contained in a rapidly growing
Presidential “boom,” but it came to an end, and early in the summer
I gathered up my family and a few necessary belongings and went to
Murray Bay. We were to leave some time in August for the
Philippines and the trip around the world via the Trans-Siberian
Railway, and I wanted very much to have my husband get away for a
few weeks of absolute detachment from public affairs, feeling sure
that it would be his last opportunity for rest and relaxation for many
a day. But no man can be a candidate for President of the United
States and indulge at the same time in even a short period of
complete tranquillity.
Before Mr. Taft joined me he, in deference to the wishes of the
men who were conducting his “boom,” made another speech-making
trip through the West on the method so aptly described as
“whirlwind,” and did not arrive in Murray Bay until the first week in
July.
It just occurs to me that I have covered all these different periods
of our lives without even mentioning Murray Bay, although a large
part of the Taft family has been spending the summers there for
twenty years or more. We went there before the place became in any
sense “fashionable,” when the only kind of hotel accommodation was
in quaint old inns of the real French-Canadian type in which no
English was spoken, but where service of such delightfully simple
and satisfactory quality as can no longer be obtained was smilingly
offered at rates which would now be considered absurdly low. After
our first year in 1892 we always had a cottage,—and on going to
Murray Bay we prepared to enjoy ourselves in the luxury of complete
simplicity.
The cottage which we have occupied for a number of years is
perched on a rocky headland overlooking the sixteen miles wide
stretch of the St. Lawrence river and almost entirely hidden in a
dense grove of fragrant pine trees. It is roomy and comfortable, but
simple as a camp in the woods, being finished in unpainted pine and
furnished with only such things as may be locked up and left year in
and year out. There is nothing to tempt any possible robber, the only
distinctive things in the house being some Philippine curios, wall
decorations and floor mats, called “petates,” which we have brought
with us at different times from Manila.
Mr. Taft stayed at Murray Bay about five weeks, but during that
time our cottage in the woods was the United States War Department
and headquarters of a very probable Presidential candidate. Then,
too, Mr. Taft was beset with the nagging necessity for preparing
speeches which were really to launch his campaign for the
nomination before he left for the trip around the world. The
campaign in Ohio became centred and active during the summer,
with Mr. Taft far in the lead among possible candidates, and all over
the country organisations were forming which demanded whole-
hearted and unremitting attention.
The busy man wrote to Mr. Roosevelt: “I am enjoying my
vacation,” but his vacation consisted in a release from constant social
formalities and a daily round of golf on the links of the Murray Bay
Club which he liked so much and over which he had played for so
many years,—nothing more.
Early in August he left for Washington with the understanding that
I should complete arrangements, and taking Charlie with me, should
meet him at the entrance of Yellowstone Park at the end of the
month. In the meantime he had one more long speech-making trip to
begin at Columbus on the 19th of August and to take him through
Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and to Denver.
His mother, to whom the whole family was strongly devoted, was
at this time very ill. It did not seem possible that she could be with us
for long, and all of her sons wished sincerely to be able to remain
near her. One of them, Horace, was able to do so, but when my
husband declared to her his desire to give up the trip to the
Philippines and stay in the United States until she recovered she said
to him:
“No Taft, to my knowledge, has ever yet neglected a public duty for
the sake of gratifying a private desire. You promised the Filipinos
that you would be present at the opening of their first Assembly, and
if you should break that promise and neglect your plain duty on my
account, it would give me no pleasure.”
This was the last serious thing she ever said to him, and it gave
him great comfort throughout the long trip as the reports of her
failing strength came to him. He never saw her again.
With my son Charlie, who was then nearly ten years old, I met my
husband and his party at Livingston Junction, on the Northern
Pacific Railroad in Montana, and we proceeded together to Gardiner
at the entrance to Yellowstone Park. There we were met by General
Young, the Superintendent of the Park, and Colonel Henry T. Allen,
and by the head of the Park transportation company and began at
once a wonderful three days’ trip, which included, among other
things, the business of inspecting the Army post with the purpose of
making recommendations for changes in the Park patrolling system.
As our time was very short we had to drive about fifty miles every
day, which meant hurrying on at top speed, with relays of Army
mules, and not much more than a how-d’ye-do and good-bye at every
place we stopped. In consequence we completely lost track of the
days of the week and made what I then thought would prove to be a
fatal error.
We got back to the Mammoth Springs Hotel one evening and
found the place quite gay with crowds of tourists. There being
nothing else to do, I suggested that after dinner we play bridge in the
lobby where all the people were and where everything seemed so
lively and entertaining. We did. Mr. Taft and I, General Clarence
Edwards and another member of our party sat there and played until
quite late, enjoying ourselves immensely. Everybody looked at us,
and I noticed a few persons taking special pains to pass close enough
for a really satisfactory inspection, but we were used to being gazed
at and paid no attention to it. It was not until the next morning that
every look that was cast upon us assumed for me a special meaning.
The next morning was Monday!
Under any circumstances it would have shocked us somewhat to
find that through forgetfulness we had played bridge during a whole
Sunday evening, but with Mr. Taft generally recognised as a probable
candidate for President, our shock was merged into serious concern
with regard to the effect the story might have on the millions of good
Sabbatarians throughout the country. And there was no possible
explanation that we could make. Playing cards was bad enough, but
to have forgotten Sunday altogether was a great deal worse, so we
were perfectly helpless. Up to the day Mr. Taft was elected I looked
for the story to rise up and smite us. I had visions of glaring
headlines: “Taft Plays Cards on the Sabbath Day.” Having been
brought up on strictly Sabbatarian principles myself, I knew what
good use could be made of the incident in the hands of our political
enemies. But we never heard a word from it, and I have a warm
regard for all those good people who failed to avail themselves of
such an opportunity for a bit of valuable gossip. Or had they all
forgotten it was Sunday, too?
On the way from Yellowstone Park to Seattle I had a taste of real
campaign work and always thereafter enjoyed a full realisation of its
difficulties. I got completely worn out as a mere onlooker, and as I
saw Mr. Taft encountering the throngs at every stopping place,
speaking until his voice was reduced to a hoarse whisper, and
shaking hands until he groaned with the ache of his muscles, my
political enthusiasm waned slightly, though temporarily, and I could
think of nothing to be more thankful for at the moment than the fact
that we were about to set out on a two weeks’ ocean voyage,
beginning a three months’ trip around the world.
(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) MRS. JAIME DE VEYRA, MRS. TAFT,
GOVERNOR SMITH, MRS. SMITH, MR. TAFT, MR. SERGIO
OSMEÑA, SPEAKER OF THE PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY, AND
MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY IN THE AYUNTAMIENTO,
MANILA
CHAPTER XV
A HURRIED TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

I have not the space to give a detailed account of this trip around
the world. After a pleasant voyage on the steamship Minnesota we
were given in Japan the same warm welcome that we had always had
there, and Mr. Taft and I were entertained at the Shiba Detached
Palace, one of the Imperial residences. We lunched with the Emperor
and also with Prince Fushimi, and we met the admirals and the
generals who had won such distinction in the Russo-Japanese War.
These included Admiral Togo and Field Marshal Prince Oyama. It
was explained to Mr. Taft by the Court Chamberlain that we were
regarded as personal guests of the Emperor. Marquis Saionji was
then Premier, but Prince Katsura, whom he had succeeded and who
was our old friend, was still powerful in the councils. Mr. Taft held a
number of interesting and useful interviews with these statesmen of
Japan, and also with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Hayashi,
and with Marquis Terauchi, the Minister of War, who has now
become Governor of Korea. He was able, from what they told him, to
understand the attitude of Japan toward the United States, and to
feel confident of her wish to remain in bonds of amity with us. At a
dinner in Tokyo, given by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Taft
made a speech in which he pointed out the absurdity of a war
between Japan and the United States, and showed how the true
interests of both nations required a strengthening of the bonds of
friendship between them. This speech attracted much attention
throughout the Orient and was cabled back to the United States as an
expression of the Administration on the subject. The Japanese
residents of Yokohama presented to Mr. Taft and me on this visit a
very handsome silver tea set.
Our course took us by way of Shanghai and we stopped there for
just one busy day. In the morning Mr. Taft dedicated a Young Men’s
Christian Association building which had just been constructed and
to the cost of which a number of Chinese Mandarins, though not
Christians, had made substantial contribution. The afternoon was
devoted to shopping and to a most elaborate and picturesque
reception and tea which was given for us by the Chinese guilds of the
city. At this tea I was presented with a very curious and interesting
bowl of Chinese silver which is among my most valued possessions.
In the evening a great banquet was given by the leading citizens of
Shanghai at the Astor Hotel, where provision was made for the ladies
to hear the speaking from a platform erected at one end of the room.
Mr. Taft made a speech on the subject of the relations of the United
States to the development of China, which was long remembered as a
succinct and forcible presentation of the policy of the United States
toward that country, then in an interesting stage of its awakening
from a long lethargy.
In Manila, at the formal opening of the first Assembly, Mr. Taft
laid down the purposes of the Administration in the passage of the
Philippine Act, plainly saying to the Philippine people that
independence was not near at hand, and that it could only come after
a period of earnest effort on their part to fit themselves for complete
self-government. His candour and frankness did not please many of
the Assembly, but his view has always been that the only way in
which to deal with the Filipino people is to tell them the exact truth,
unpalatable though it may be, and to fulfil promises with the greatest
care. Filipinos may be very lax in discharging the full measure of
their own assurances, but the way to maintain influence over them is
to pursue a policy of clear and candid statement, full performance
and exact justice. They are prone to accept every declaration in the
same sense in which they would like to construe it, and the utmost
care must be taken to prevent their being misled. Demagoguery with
them is likely to be most pernicious in its ultimate results.
During this visit we were the guests of Governor-General Smith at
Malacañan Palace and I experienced a pleasant renewal of old
impressions and sensations. Mr. W. Cameron Forbes, who succeeded
Governor Smith, was then Secretary of Commerce and Police and, in
this capacity, was in charge of Public Works. He had built for himself
at Baguio a fine country residence which he called “Topside,” a name
which fits it exactly, since it stands, literally, at the “topside” of the
island of Luzon, at an elevation of more than five thousand feet, and
overlooks the broadest and most colourful stretch of mountain
scenery imaginable. We visited Mr. Forbes at “Topside” and were
able to see for the first time the splendid achievements in the
development of the summer capital which I anticipated in Chapter
IX. Mr. Taft assured an enthusiastic enquirer that he was not
surprised at the magnificence of the Benguet Road because he had
authorised the expenditure of a sufficient amount to produce
something unusual, and that he would, indeed, have been surprised
if it hadn’t been done. But he had to confess to a little surprise at the
improvement of the town of Baguio. The difference was so great that
it was almost impossible to recognise the place as the site of the
ragged little Igorrote village where I had spent such pleasant and
“uncivilised” days just before my husband’s inauguration as the first
governor of the Philippines.
It would be useless for me to attempt to detail the thousand and
one events of this visit to Manila. Upon our arrival we were handed a
printed schedule of dinners, luncheons, teas, receptions, balls,
meetings, celebrations, trips of inspection, and business conferences
which we had to do our best to carry out. Fortunately provision was
made for a few hours of rest which could be used for other things
when we got behind with the programme.
On a day in November, when blue Manila Bay lay sparkling in the
sun, we set sail for Vladivostok on the U. S. S. Rainbow, flying the
flag of Admiral Hemphill, and convoyed by two other naval vessels.
The most amusing incident of this trip, which was quite a
tempestuous one, was the gradual freezing up of our Filipino
orchestra. They left Manila clad in natty white uniforms, responding
with enthusiasm to the strains of the many bands on shore and on
the fleet of harbor launches which accompanied us down the bay.
They played for us at dinner that night and gave a concert on deck
the next day, but then began the rapid descent of the mercury in the
thermometers and the consequent undoing of our tropical musicians.
They first changed into heavy blue uniforms and tried their best to
look comfortable. Then they put on their overcoats and kept them
on. Finally they deserted the deck altogether and their rather
disconnected strains came up to us through a partly open hatch just
over the engine room. When we reached the forbidding harbour of
Vladivostok, where the temperature stood below zero, the poor
bugler was so thoroughly cold that he couldn’t adjust his lips to his
bugle to pipe distinguished visitors aboard. Our party on this trip
around the world was small, including only my son Charlie, Mr.
Taft’s secretary, Mr. Fred C. Carpenter, General Clarence R.
Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Egan and two other newspaper
correspondents.
Shortly before we reached Vladivostok there had been a mutiny on
one of the torpedo boats in the harbour, and a woman anarchist had
induced the crew to take the boat out into the stream and raise the
red flag. This outbreak was suppressed with a heavy hand, and a
number of those suspected of complicity in the plot were arrested. As
the Governor had power of life and death over them it was assumed
that the extreme penalty was visited on some of them at least, but no
publicity was given to the proceedings. The effect of the tragedy upon
our arrival, however, was marked. The town was in a most unquiet
state and there were vague rumours of danger to be met on every
hand. We were not permitted to go ashore without a heavy guard of
bristling Cossacks, and everywhere we went we were under the
closest and most careful protection. It was most exciting, though in
the midst of the cordial hospitality of our Russian hosts we could not
feel that there was the slightest cause for apprehension. As soon as
we dropped anchor in the harbour we were welcomed to Vladivostok
by the Governor and General Commanding. He assigned Prince
Bariatinski, Colonel of a regiment stationed at Vladivostok, to act as
Mr. Taft’s aide during our stay, and from Saturday until Tuesday he
and the Princess, both of whom spoke English, were with us
constantly, adding much to our enjoyment. Our visit concluded with
a dinner and ball given by the Governor, and the next morning we
bade good-bye to the Rainbow and Admiral Hemphill and made our
way, surrounded by Cossack guards, to the railway station where the
train waited to start on its twelve days’ trip across Siberia. The
government provided us with a large private car of the armoured
variety which contained a number of compartments that were fully
as spacious and comfortable as an average steamship cabin and we
settled ourselves in them quite as we would have done on a trans-
Pacific liner.
The trip across Siberia is exceedingly interesting. One anticipates
endless monotony, but only the landscape lacks variety. For days
together the train runs along through a country which looks exactly
like South Dakota or Nebraska and which is interesting only in its
wonderful possibilities. It is one of the world’s open spaces,
undeveloped but capable of producing anything. I had always
imagined Siberia as a country filled with sadness and I expected it to
depress me, but it arouses no such feeling. We met trainload after
trainload of happy Russian colonists on their way to the new
settlements, and at all the well built stations along the way we saw a
great number of sturdy peasant farmers and their families who
looked thoroughly comfortable and contented. We whiled away the
hours with bridge and books, and, though the train never made more
than two or three stops a day, the time passed quickly. Throughout
the journey our car was guarded by stalwart Russian soldiers in most
picturesque uniforms, stationed on both platforms, and each time
the train stopped this guard was changed with considerable
ceremony. Also at every station near an army post Mr. Taft was
greeted by the Commander of the District with strict military form,
all of which added colour and interest to the journey.
Mr. Willard D. Straight, then United States Consul at Mukden, met
us at Vladivostok with plans for our reception at Mukden. When we
arrived there we were welcomed by a company of Chinese soldiers
dressed in the old Mongolian custom, and by a squadron of Cossacks.
We were hurried in a carriage behind two fast trotting Orloff horses
to a hotel where all the consuls assembled greeted us with cakes,
champagne and very short speeches. There was considerable
excitement among the consuls with regard to the toasts to be drunk
and the order of precedence in which the rulers of the different
countries were to be named, but Mr. Straight was diplomatic enough
to mention every proper name in right order and the result was a
round of congratulation and merriment. In the meantime the
leisurely and accommodating train was waiting, so we hurried back
to the station at the terrific pace usual to the Russian with his
beautiful horses. No people not inherently fine could ever produce
the kind of horses one sees in Russia. And the Russians love them. I
can think of nothing more pleasing than the picture of a great,
shaggy, gruff-voiced Russian coachman on the box of his carriage or
droshky, gently urging his well-kept horse on to his best speed in
terms of endearment. “On, Little Brother!” says he.
At Moscow we were right royally entertained by the Governor-
General of the city who did everything possible to make our visit
memorable. We arrived late Saturday night and on Sunday the
Kremlin was opened for our especial benefit and we were given full
opportunity to see every part of that ancient and interesting home of
Russian autocracy with all its collections of priceless treasures. A
hurried round of entertainments, which included a special ballet
performance at the Opera, ended with a dinner given by the
Governor-General, and we left on the midnight train for St.
Petersburg. We had not been there more than an hour or so the next
morning when we received a telegram announcing that a woman
Nihilist had thrown a bomb at the Governor’s sleigh which had
exploded under the horses, killing them and the coachman and
throwing the Governor and his aide backward into the snow
unharmed. As these gentlemen had both been very kind to us it
brought home in a startling way the danger that attends high
position in Russia.
In St. Petersburg we dined with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.
Iswolski and Madame Iswolski, and with them received the
Diplomatic Corps. Mr. Taft and General Edwards had an audience
with the Czar and attended the annual Saint’s day celebration of a
famous regiment numbering about 3,200, no man of which measures
less than six feet two. They were also present at a luncheon which the
Czar gave to the officers of this regiment at the Czar-KoeSelo Palace.
In the Czar’s suite there were two or three gentlemen who
remembered Mr. Taft’s father as Minister to Russia, so he very
greatly enjoyed the experience of meeting them.
Our visit was a hurried one, and after a stay of three days we left
for Berlin. Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Root were not disposed to have Mr.
Taft visit any of the courts of Europe except at St. Petersburg and
that only for the purpose of conveying his grateful acknowledgment
of the courtesies shown us in our long trip across Siberia. Nor in the
state of his mother’s health, which we knew to be precarious, was he
disposed to accept the invitations which he received from the
German Emperor, the King of Belgium, the President of France and
others, to visit their countries and become their guest. At Berlin we
had just time to dine with the American Ambassador and Mrs.
Tower, and to meet a few American friends whom they had invited
in, then Mr. Taft and the other members of the party went to
Hamburg to take the Steamship General Grant at that port, while I,
with Mrs. Post Wheeler, rushed down to Paris to do a few hours’
shopping, planning to join the Grant at Boulogne the next evening.
In the meantime a terrible storm began to rage along the coast, and
when we reached Boulogne there was some question about our being
able to get to the Grant which lay at anchor just outside the
breakwater. However, we boarded the little tender and she started
for the very wild looking open channel. She had no sooner struck the
heavy seas before she had broken her rudder and was being buffeted
about in a really terrifying manner. We managed in some way to get
back inside the breakwater where some repairs were made, then we
started out again. We repeated this performance several times,
listening meanwhile to generally voiced predictions that nothing on
earth could save us from going to the bottom, and, although it was
only nine o’clock in the evening when we boarded the little vessel, it
was four o’clock in the morning before she came alongside the Grant
and discharged her dilapidated and exhausted passengers.
Mr. Taft had waited up for us and had seen the tender come out of
the harbour and go back, and, assuming from what was told him that
no attempt would be made to transfer the passengers before
morning, he went to bed. When I got aboard the steamer, filled with
excitement over the dangers through which I had passed, and found
him peacefully sleeping in his cabin, I declined to accept any
explanation. A French sub-prefect, who had been sent out by the
Minister of the Interior of France with greetings and compliments,
and who had come in his full regimentals with a cocked hat, was
waiting to see Mr. Taft and I was cruel enough to insist that he
should get up and receive him. Throwing a long fur coat over his
pajamas the Secretary of War of the United States walked out into
the salon to meet the polite representative of the politest of peoples,
but after a grave exchange of formal salutations the situation proved
too much for their gravity. They burst out laughing at each other, to
the immense enjoyment of the bystanders, and the gloom of the wee
sma’ hour was lifted.
When we touched at Plymouth that afternoon we received a
despatch announcing the death of Mr. Taft’s mother. The funeral
took place in Cincinnati, at the home of Mr. Charles Taft, several
days before we could reach New York.
On our return to the United States we found that my husband’s
rivals for the Republican nomination had been making great
headway. Mr. Roosevelt was quite impatient at the loss of ground
that Mr. Taft’s candidacy had suffered and he urged him to take a
more active interest in the situation. He insisted that Mr. Taft should
change the subject of a speech which he had agreed to deliver in
Boston from the Philippine problem to a discussion of the financial
situation which was then acute after the depression which had taken
place during our absence. Mr. Roosevelt’s forcible expression was
that the business and political public had no more interest in the
Philippines than in the subject of “nature faking.”
I cannot go into the details of the preliminary convention fight. My
husband’s brother Charles devoted a full year to it, established
headquarters in Ohio and Washington, and bore the brunt of the
contest. The afternoon of the convention when the voting came, we
all assembled at my husband’s office in the War Department and
received the news over the telephone as it came in. I have a series of
photographs, taken by a friend, of the expressions on my husband’s
face as the results of the voting were being announced. Soon after the
nomination was made, on the first of July Mr. Taft resigned from the
Cabinet, and we established ourselves at Hot Springs, Virginia,
where he spent some weeks preparing his address of acceptance.
This he submitted to Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Root before he went to
Cincinnati to deliver it. Mr. Charles Taft made elaborate preparations
to receive and entertain the Committee of Announcement, and on a
platform in front of his fine old house, in Pike Street, on one of the
hottest days of the summer, my husband delivered his acceptance.
We then returned to Hot Springs and spent another month in
preparation for the campaign. From Hot Springs we went to Middle
Bass Island on Lake Erie to spend a week or more there. We then
went to Cincinnati. Upon this latter trip Mr. Taft made a good many
speeches from the platform of our car. In September Mr. Bryan’s
campaign looked very hopeful. The opposition of Mr. Gompers and
organised labour seemed formidable. Mr. Taft determined to meet
this issue fully and frankly. He was attacked because he had
delivered a number of labour decisions supposed to be against the
interest of labour. He had sent to jail, for six months, the chief
lieutenant of Debs in the Debs railway rebellion of 1894, breaking it
up in Cincinnati and the vicinity. He did not apologise in any way for
the action he had taken. A meeting of the railway trade organisations
was called in Chicago at Orchestra Hall, and there he explained his
action, defended it, and avowed that were the same questions
presented to him again, he would do the same thing he had done,
and that he had no excuses to offer. From that point he made a long
trip in the West, upon which I did not accompany him. I remained in
Cincinnati with Mrs. Charles Taft and my sister Mrs. Anderson. It
was the first political campaign in which Mr. Taft was a candidate
before the people. The reports that came indicated that he had lost
his voice, and I was greatly concerned lest he might break down in
his strenuous labours and new experience. The ups and downs of
such a campaign, the prophecies, the hopes, the fears aroused by
favourable and opposing newspapers were all new and trying to me,
and in a way I think I was under as great a nervous strain as my
husband was, without the steadying help of the hardest kind of work.
However as the campaign drew near to a close, the Republican
confidence grew stronger and stronger, so when we were assembled
finally under the hospitable roof of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Taft, with a
company of friends to receive the dispatches on election night, the
news of the great success that came did not surprise us.
CHAPTER XVI
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Shortly after my husband’s election, having spent a couple of


restful weeks at Hot Springs, Virginia, we went to Augusta, Georgia,
and took the old house known as the Terrett Cottage, near the Bon
Air Hotel. To me the weeks we spent there were exceptionally happy
ones and I should like to mention each friend—friends then and
friends still—who contributed to our constant enjoyment, but there
were too many of them and their kindnesses too numerous.
Mr. Taft, of course, immediately became engrossed in the
difficulties of securing a Cabinet which would satisfy everybody and
disappoint none,—an impossibility,—as well as a thousand and one
other matters not connected in any way with the daily games of golf
on Augusta’s sandy links which attracted such wide attention. But
even then my own problems became to me paramount and I began to
give them my almost undivided attention and to neglect the political
affairs which had for many years interested me so intensely. Perhaps
with my husband safely elected I considered all important affairs
satisfactorily settled. At any rate I found little time or inclination at
the moment to worry about who should have the high offices in the
new President’s gift, or what policies should be pursued during his
administration.
At my request Captain Archibald Butt came down to Augusta to
consult with me as to changes I wished to make in the White House
service, and together we went over the whole situation. As President
Roosevelt’s aide he knew the whole lexicon of customary White
House social formalities.
I had been a member of Washington’s official family for five years
and knew as well as need be the various phases of the position I was
about to assume, so my plans were not so difficult to put into form,
however difficult I may have found them to put into execution.

THE WHITE HOUSE AS IT LOOKED ON THE EVENING OF


THE FOURTH OF MARCH, 1909

We made a trip to Panama in February before the Inauguration


and did not reach Washington until the end of the month when we
went to stay with our friends, Mr. and Mrs. William J. Boardman,
and their daughter, Miss Mabel Boardman, at their residence on
Dupont Circle. We spent with them a busy week as the recipients of
varied and delightful hospitality, which was terminated by a splendid
reception in our honour on the evening of the second of March.
Captain Butt, who was to be continued as aide to President Taft,
called on me at once upon my arrival in Washington to assure me
that my instructions had been carried out and that the new régime,
fully organised, would go into effect at the White House on the
morning of March fifth.
Some time before the Inauguration, indeed shortly after Mr. Taft’s
election, President Roosevelt expressed a desire that we should dine
with him and Mrs. Roosevelt on the evening of the third of March
and spend that night in the White House as their guests. This was
breaking a precedent, but it was Mr. Roosevelt’s plan for bidding us a
warm welcome to the post which he was about to vacate, and my
husband accepted with grateful appreciation. My impression is that
neither Mrs. Roosevelt nor I would have suggested such an
arrangement for this particular evening, but, it having been made for
us, we naturally acquiesced.
The third of March, a stormy day, was filled with innumerable
minor engagements and small incidents, with instructions and
counter-instructions and, especially, with weather predictions and
counter-predictions, so it was not until shortly before eight o’clock
that Mr. Taft and I, having dressed for dinner, arrived at the White
House. The other guests at the dinner were Senator and Mrs. Lodge,
Senator and Mrs. Root, Admiral and Mrs. Cowles, Mr. and Mrs.
Nicholas Longworth and Miss Mabel Boardman.
Now there is always bound to be a sadness about the end of an
administration, no matter how voluntarily the retiring President may
leave office, no matter how welcome the new President and his
family may be. Mrs. Roosevelt seemed depressed, not, I am sure,
over the prospect of leaving the White House,—Presidents’ wives are
always given plenty of time to prepare themselves for that event,—
but for other reasons which one easily could surmise. Her husband
and son were about to start for a long and, possibly, dangerous trip
into the jungles of Africa, and she was looking forward to a year of
anxiety. She was leaving a full and busy life; she had occupied her
high position for nearly eight years, during which she had made a
host of friends, and a great number of them had called during the
afternoon to say farewell and to express their deep regret at her
departure. I knew all of these things, realised their depressing effect
and sympathised with her deeply. The President and Mr. Taft,
seconded by other guests, did their best with stories and
conversation, made as general as possible, to lighten the occasion,
but their effort was not entirely successful.
As my husband had an engagement to attend a “smoker” which
was being given to him at the New Willard Hotel by a large gathering
of Yale men, the party broke up very early and, as soon as the last of
the guests had gone, I went immediately to my rooms. We had been
assigned to the suite in the southeast corner, known in the White
House as the Blue Bedroom.
This Blue Bedroom gave me food for interesting reflection.
Conspicuous, under the mantel against the side wall, I found, on a
bronze plate, the following inscription (which I read as I struggled
with my hooks): “In this room Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, whereby four million
slaves were given their freedom and slavery forever prohibited in
these United States.” It is only a state bedroom now, having been
made so by the plans of the McKim restoration which was
accomplished during the Roosevelt administration, but it was once
Lincoln’s Cabinet room, a room in which he lived through many
terrible days during the Civil War. It seemed strange to spend my
first night in the White House surrounded by such ghosts.
I went to bed reasonably early, hoping that I might have a good,
long sleep and get up refreshed and ready for an eventful day. But
the press of circumstances was against me. My mind was never more
wide awake. In spite of my determination to rest, I went carefully
over the whole Inaugural programme. I wondered if this had been
done, if that had been attended to. I worried over many petty details
with which I had no reason to be concerned. I suppose I must have
been excited, a condition quite rare with me, but then, too, the
weather had something to do with it. Never was seen such a night in
Washington. It will be remembered that Mr. Moore, the Chief of the
Weather Bureau, had prophesied that the storm of the third would
pass and that the Fourth of March would dawn as clear and bright as
any Inaugural Committee could wish. He made himself very popular
with the anxious officials, who were expending their energies in the
preparation of a fair weather programme, but his popularity was
short lived. He afterward learnedly explained that some wholly
unprecedented thing had happened in the wind currents, causing a
“flareback”—whatever that may be. It was a memorable “flareback”
in any event, not to be forgotten by those who were so seriously
inconvenienced by its results.
After I had fallen asleep in the early morning hours, thinking—
with faith in the prophet—to wake up and find a smiling world, I was
roused by loud, crackling reports which seemed to be in the
immediate vicinity of my windows. I got up and looked out. It was
light enough for me to see that the world was ice-bound and that the
storm, instead of abating, had increased in violence. The crackling I
had heard was the noise of twigs and tree limbs breaking with the
weight of the ice which encased them. It didn’t look hopeful for the
Inaugural Ceremonies, and I had a ludicrous vision of a haughty,
gold-laced parade sliding, rather than marching with measured
precision, down Pennsylvania Avenue, striving to maintain its
dignity while it spasmodically lost its footing. But mine was rueful
mirth.
In the morning Mr. Taft found President Roosevelt in the great
hall below, genially alert.
“Well, Will,” he exclaimed, “the storm will soon be over. It isn’t a
regular storm. It’s nature’s echo of Senator Rainer’s denunciations of
me. As soon as I am out where I can do no further harm to the
Constitution it will cease.”
“You’re wrong,” said Will; “it is my storm. I always said it would be
a cold day when I got to be President of the United States.”
It was really very serious. Railroad and telegraphic
communications were paralysed all along the Atlantic Coast. Wires
were down in every direction and traffic of all kinds was at a practical
standstill. Thousands of people, on their way to Washington for the
Inauguration, were tied up at points outside the city and it was
impossible for awhile even to get a telegram in or out. However,
Inaugurations do not wait for fair weather and the programme had
to proceed.
About half past ten I saw the President and the President-elect, in
a closed carriage, accompanied by Senators Knox and Bacon of the
Inaugural Committee, and a brilliant mounted escort, start on their
slippery way toward the Capitol. The Inauguration ceremonies would
not take place until twelve o’clock, but there were a number of bills
waiting for the signature of Mr. Roosevelt, and it was necessary for
him to go early to the office of the President at the Capitol to attend
to this and other final business details.
Before they left the White House it had not yet been decided
whether or not the Inauguration would take place out of doors. Mr.
Taft regretted exceedingly the necessity for disappointing thousands
of people, but at the same time he recognised the danger of exposing
the crowds to the wet and penetrating cold, and he considered,
especially, the impossibility of asking Chief Justice Fuller, who was

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