In this book, Jennifer French presents a new synthesis of the archaeological, palaeoanthropological, and palaeogenetic records of the European Palaeolithic, adopting a unique demographic perspective on these first two-million years of European prehistory. Unlike prevailing narratives of demographic stasis, she emphasises the dynamism of Palaeolithic populations of both our evolutionary ancestors and members of our own species across four demographic stages, within a context of substantial Pleistocene climatic changes. Integrating evolutionary theory with a socially oriented approach to the Palaeolithic, French bridges biological and cultural factors, with a focus on women and children as the drivers of population change. She shows how, within the physiological constraints on fertility and mortality, social relationships provide the key to enduring demographic success. Through its demographic focus, French combines a 'big picture' perspective on human evolution with careful analysis of the day-to-day realities of European Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities-their families, their children, and their lives.

A demographic history of Europe's early human populations from 1.8 million to 15,000 years ago.

About the Author
Jennifer C. French holds a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge. Her research on humanity's early demographic history has been funded by the AHRC, the Leverhulme Trust and the Wenner-Gren Foundation and published in Science, Evolutionary Anthropology, Journal of Archaeological Science, and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.


Book Information
ISBN 9781108492065
Author Jennifer C. French
Format Hardback
Page Count 348
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 870g
Dimensions(mm) 260mm * 183mm * 22mm