This new edition of a widely adopted primary and supplementarytext explores human adaptations to environmentsover time. It is biologically and culturally sophisticated,drawing on an impressive array of archaeological andpaleontological research. Campbell proceeds from earlier,simpler biomes to later, more complex ones, examining selectedaspects of the prehistory and history of the humanspecies. Human Ecology offers a succinct introductionto the history of these adaptations within ecosystems: ashared concern among anthropologists, biologists, environmentalists,and the general reader.In the years since this book was first published, theproblems that the human species has faced have becomemore serious. As predicted, world population has rapidlyincreased, and with it starvation, malnutrition, and disease.Our precious environment is being devastated. Inparticular, the tropical rain forests, our richest resource,are being cut and burned at an alarming rate with theaccompanying degradation of the forest soils. Their floraand fauna, including their human inhabitants, are beingdestroyed.