- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press; New edition edition (May 30 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674011120
- ISBN-13: 978-0674011120
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 14.9 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,652,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Fertility is undoubtedly the least often discussed facet of the reproductive process, in large part because scientists haven't had the tools needed to study it until recently, but also because, well, it's just not very sexy. But as Ellison, professor of anthropology and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, shows in this comprehensive study, fertility plays a far more important role than the sexual act in our development as a species. "It may well be... that it was an adaptation in our reproductive physiology that originally set the stage for our intellectual and cultural development," he asserts. But important aspects of female physiology aren't obvious outcomes of natural selection: the head size required for the relatively large fetal brain played a major role in the high incidence of women's death in childbirth in earlier centuries. The author tells us that scientists have discovered that there seems to be little correlation between sperm counts and male fecundity. One man can have the minimum normal sperm count of 15,000-20,000 per milliliter and another an astonishing 250 million, but both face roughly the same odds of impregnating a fertile egg. Ellison tilts perhaps a little too strongly toward female fertility; males receive only one relatively short chapter. The book is not an easy read and will probably appeal mainly to professionals in medicine and related fields. Still, any reader will be astounded not only by how much has been learned about human fertility but by how much still remains to be explored. (Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Ellison describes the evolution of human reproduction clearly and concisely, beginning with the forces that shaped the process of conception and^B proceeding to the reproductive process, birth, and the subsequent six months of development. Focusing heavily on the biochemical basis of reproduction, he notes competing theories as to the origins and development of each major reproductive event, evaluating them in the context of current research. Most interesting, however, is the concluding description of how evolutionary forces shaping human reproduction allowed for the development of greater brain size and especially for the development of the neocortex, thereby laying the foundation for early humans' dramatic increase in intelligence. Adapting to a food-availability pattern consisting of alternating abundance and want, hominids developed the ability to store fat in large quantities. Consequently, mothers could store fat in the early stages of pregnancy, becoming abler to meet fetal energy demands, including the very high demands of developing brain tissue, in the later stages of pregnancy. Sure to delight anyone interested in the external forces that helped create humanity. Bonnie Johnston
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
IT WAS EARLY EVENING in the summer of 1984. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IT WAS EARLY EVENING in the summer of 1984. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Fascinating!,
By
This review is from: On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction (Hardcover)
The is a beautifully crafted and engrossing description of human reproductive physiology and sociology. The non-specialist reader will learn more than he or she ever though possible about the nature of being a human being -- and be continually fascinated along the journey. Allan Watts once complained that no "Owner's Manuals" were issued to human beings. Ellison has certainly made a wonderful contribution to one.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A ground breaking contribution to human evolutionary biology,
By
This review is from: On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction (Hardcover)
Professor Ellison has written the definitive book on the physiology and life history of a central pillar of human evolution; reproduction. Moreover, this book is unique in it's elegance and treatment of human reproduction. It melds three often elusive topics that beg to be integrated, evolutionary theory, life history theory, and physiology. As a biological anthropologist with expertise in evolutionary and life history theory, endocrinology, and field methods, Professor Ellison has skillfully woven these perspectives into a concise discussion of how human reproductive physiology responds to environmental challenges. Anthropologists and physiologists have often been at odds in explaining variation in human fertility resulting in frustrating discussions that typify the false dichotomy between genes and environment. Ellison avoids these potential pitfalls and masterfully presents a fresh and quantitatively compelling perspective that describes the evolution of human reproduction as an interplay between the genotype and environment, resulting in adaptations that involve graded physiologic responses to ecological challenges such as caloric deficiencies and energetic expenditure. Indeed, the ability of human reproductive physiology to respond to environmental challenges seems to have been a key adaptation during human evolution. 'On Fertile Ground' is the product of years of field and laboratory investigation by both Ellison and his colleagues. The ramifications of this research include both the reexamination of human physiological variation as well as the constraints and selection pressures that shaped human evolution. In addition, this research provides a fresh perspective on the etiology of contemporary health issues such as steroid sensitive cancers. The writing is superb and the illustrations are outstanding in their detail and clarity. 'On Fertile Ground' is an extremely valuable and important contribution to contemporary biological anthropology and evolutionary biology as a whole. Indeed, 'On Fertile Ground' will be required reading for undergraduate and graduate students studying reproductive ecology in the biological anthropology program at Yale University. Ellison's work is an extraordinary achievement!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A ground breaking contribution to human evolutionary biology,
By
This review is from: On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction (Hardcover)
Professor Ellison has written the definitive book on the physiology and life history of a central pillar of human evolution; reproduction. Moreover, this book is unique in it's elegance and treatment of human reproduction. It melds three often elusive topics that beg to be integrated, evolutionary theory, life history theory, and physiology. As a biological anthropologist with expertise in evolutionary and life history theory, endocrinology, and field methods, Professor Ellison has skillfully woven these perspectives into a concise discussion of how human reproductive physiology responds to environmental challenges. Anthropologists and physiologists have often been at odds in explaining variation in human fertility resulting in frustrating discussions involving the false dichotomy between genes and environment. Ellison rejects these simplistic notions and masterfully outlines how human reproduction consists of an interplay between the genotype and environment, resulting in adaptations that involve graded physiologic responses to ecological challenges such as caloric deficiencies and energetic expenditure. Indeed, the ability of human reproductive physiology to respond to environmental challenges seems to have been a key adaptation during human evolution. 'On Fertile Ground' is the product of years of field and laboratory research by both Ellison and his colleagues, the ramifications of which include a reexamination of human physiological variation, the constraints and selection pressures that shaped human evolution, as well as a fresh perspective on the etiology of contemporary health issues such as breast cancer. The writing is superb and the illustrations are outstanding in their detail and clarity. 'On Fertile Ground' is an extremely valuable and important contribution to contemporary biological anthropology and evolutionary biology as a whole. Indeed, 'On Fertile Ground' will be required reading for undergraduate and graduate students studying reproductive ecology in the biological anthropology program at Yale University. Ellison's work is an extraordinary achievement!
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