- Paperback: 290 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford (14 Jan 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0198504241
- ISBN-13: 978-0198504245
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,070,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #32 in Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Earth Sciences > Palaeontology
- See Complete Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The book is about the ideas, methodology and scope of contemporary palaeobiology, rather than a comprehensive, detailed survey of the factual basis of the subject. It addresses the issue of how on the one hand evolutionary theory is necessary for interpretation of the fossil record, and yet on the other the fossils themselves can contribute to evolutionary theory. This is shown not to be the circular argument between pattern and process sometimes alleged, but a matter of understanding carefully the interrelationship between palaeontological and neontological evidence. The book is organised into two sections. Part 1 consists of four chapters outlining the principles, namely: the nature of the pattern/process relationship, taxonomic methods and the analysis of pattern, evolutionary theory and the analysis of process and the nature of incompleteness of the fossil record and what to do about it. Armed with these principles and methods, Part 2 is devoted to the five central areas of contemporary research in evolutionary palaeobiology. These are: fossils and phylogenetic inference; the mechanism of speciation; taxonomic turnover on the geological time-scale; mass-extinctions; the origin of new higher taxa. In each case the nature of the questions and the relevant kinds of evidence, including such new sources as molecular sequence data and stable isotope ratios where appropriate, are reviewed. The extent to which palaeobiology has, and has not yet, contributed to providing the sought after answers is made clear.
About the Author
T. S. Kemp is at Oxford University.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
What are fossils good for? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
What are fossils good for? Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book goes into great detail about classifying animals and why groups are looked at together.Why some bodies era preserved and how, and others leave no record.An interesting book for me as it relates well to an OU short coure on fossils and the history of life that i am studying.
Format:Paperback
A thoughtful and provocative book which tackles the big issues ("how do weknow" etc) and provides detailed evidence, particularly relating tomorphology and geologic upheavals. Nicely written with good drawings.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Pattern and Process
26 Mar 2001
Format:Paperback
This is a very good and not too technical summary by an expert in the Darwinian field not only of the current state of evolutionary theory, but of the real difficulties, stated with a succinct clarity often absent in other such works. A sort of Neo-Neo-Darwinian Synthesis emerges from the presentation of the complexities of the pattern and process debate, with good treatments of many issues, from cladistics, to punctuated equilibrium, and much else. The book is very clear, and, without parting ways with conventional Darwinism, highlights the complexities of the 'epistemological gap'as revealed in the actual state of our knowledge of the fossil record. As the author notes, there is "no single universally applicable theory of the cause of evolution that all agree explains all aspects of all cases". Such statements are more effective in the Darwin debate than the blank wall of massive denial that attends too many treatments. Very clear, rigorous, and with excellent references. Good book to get one's bearings in a changing field, whatever one's views of evolution.
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Evolution > Education
- Books > Science & Nature > Earth Sciences & Geography > Palaeontology
- Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Education > Higher Education
- Books > Science & Nature > Nature > Education
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Biology > Evolutionary Biology
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Earth Sciences > Palaeontology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
