The anthropological study of the city's role in the evolution of human systems requires the use of both macro and micro levels of analysis. From the macro perspective, the city is viewed as part of a wider complex society, while from the micro point of view, the city provides the context for understanding specific human institutions or processes…

The utility of the controversial elementary social studies program, "Man: A Course of Study" (MACOS), is argued in this paper. A list of 12 charges made by Congressman John Conlan against MACOS, with responses to the charges, is presented. Specific passages in the student materials, films, and teacher materials are examined in context…

This editorial outlines desirable content for a comprehensive text on social biology and discusses the relevant areas of hominid evolution, ecology, ethology, and archaeology. (CS)

Suggests that overproduction of offspring by early human populations would have tended to work to the selective disadvantage of the entire society. Decisions regarding population limitations have been highly personal ones based on the amount of short run effort that individuals were able and willing to invest in each child. (GS)

Describes the Center for Human Origin and Cultural Diversity program that is a model for multicultural education in which students learn about the human fossil record, the value of biological variation, and the characteristics common to all humans. Presents results from a study that support the use of this program. (CMK)

In the ongoing debate over whether or what sort of multiculturalism should be provided by schools, the origin, evolution, and rhetorical function of the basic term "culture" have been unwisely neglected. The 19th century notion of "culture" implied a process of growth and development, of culturing an organism, or of the human organism becoming…

Comments on the personalities and viewpoints of Richard Leakey and Donald Johanson, paleoanthropologists who hold differing views on the origin of humans. Summarizes major paleoanthropological finds and suggests the use of radio-immunoassay techniques for untangling the human family tree. (JN)

Experiments in teaching language or language-like behavior to chimpanzees and other primates may bear on the problem of the origin of language. Evidence appears to support the theory that man's first language was gestural. Recent pongid language experiments suggest: (1) a capacity for language is not solely human and therefore does not represent…

Discusses evidence suggesting that man only recently diverged from the apes. The evidence, still disputed by some scientists, has caused many others to revise their thinking as to when and how the human line originated. (JN)

Food altruism and the consumption of food are examined from a sociological perspective which assumes that humans share food as inclusive fitness actors. Inclusive fitness implies the representation of an individual's genes in future generations through his own or others' offspring. The discussion includes characteristics of food sharing among kin…

Correlates paleontological and archaeological data and proposes that evolutionary changes in the "Progressive Neanderthals resulted from changes in hunting patterns with accompanying changes in tool manufacture, social grouping, and mating patterns. (EB)

Examines existing data on biological diversity among Americans of African descent within the contexts of their evolutionary backgrounds and political and economic realities. Explores the origins of the diversity, and provides an evolutionary and political economy synthesis for evaluating the biological distinctions apparent among African…

This curriculum guide for sixth graders focuses upon "Who is Man?", "Who am I?" and "Man Needs Man" in an interdisciplinary sequence that combines scientific and social studies ideas and theories. It is hoped that this approach will help the pupil shape positive change within himself and his society. Emphasis is upon pupils gaining both conceptual…