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The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent : Why We See So Well

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Title: The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent : Why We See So Well
Description: From the temptation of Eve to the venomous murder of the mighty Thor, the serpent appears throughout time and cultures as a figure of mischief and misery. The worldwide prominence of snakes in religion, myth, and folklore underscores our deep connection to the serpent—but why, when so few of us have firsthand experience? The surprising answer, this book suggests, lies in the singular impact of snakes on primate evolution. Predation pressure from snakes, Lynne Isbell tells us, is ultimately responsible for the superior vision and large brains of primates—and for a critical aspect of human evolution. Drawing on extensive research, Isbell further speculates how snakes could have influenced the development of a distinctively human behavior: our ability to point for the purpose of directing attention. A social activity (no one points when alone) dependent on fast and accurate localization, pointing would have reduced deadly snake bites among our hominin ancestors. It might have also figured in later human behavior: snakes, this book eloquently argues, may well have given bipedal hominins, already equipped with a non-human primate communication system, the evolutionary nudge to point to communicate for social good, a critical step toward the evolution of language, and all that followed.
Authors: Lynne A. Isbell
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Evolution (Biology), Serpents, Primates, Visual perception, Fear, Primates--Evolution, Human evolution, Vision, Snakes, Eye--Evolution
Categories: SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Evolution, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Human Anatomy & Physiology
Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
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  Data: The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent : Why We See So Well
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  Data: From the temptation of Eve to the venomous murder of the mighty Thor, the serpent appears throughout time and cultures as a figure of mischief and misery. The worldwide prominence of snakes in religion, myth, and folklore underscores our deep connection to the serpent—but why, when so few of us have firsthand experience? The surprising answer, this book suggests, lies in the singular impact of snakes on primate evolution. Predation pressure from snakes, Lynne Isbell tells us, is ultimately responsible for the superior vision and large brains of primates—and for a critical aspect of human evolution. Drawing on extensive research, Isbell further speculates how snakes could have influenced the development of a distinctively human behavior: our ability to point for the purpose of directing attention. A social activity (no one points when alone) dependent on fast and accurate localization, pointing would have reduced deadly snake bites among our hominin ancestors. It might have also figured in later human behavior: snakes, this book eloquently argues, may well have given bipedal hominins, already equipped with a non-human primate communication system, the evolutionary nudge to point to communicate for social good, a critical step toward the evolution of language, and all that followed.
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Classifications:
      – Code: 599.938
        Scheme: ddc
        Type: prePub
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Evolution (Biology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Serpents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Primates
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Visual perception
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fear
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Primates--Evolution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Human evolution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vision
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Snakes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Eye--Evolution
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent : Why We See So Well
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Lynne A. Isbell
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Lynne A. Isbell
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2009
            – D: 04
              M: 02
              Type: profile
              Y: 2014
          Identifiers:
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780674033016
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780674061965
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9780674054042
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent : Why We See So Well
              Type: main
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