Mapping humans, or how to understand human diversity

Abstract

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 Mapping humans, or how to understand human diversity Human Biogeography. Alexander H. Harcourt, 2012, University of California Press. 319 pp. £43.95 (hardback) ISBN: 9780520272118; http://www.ucpress.edu/ Having read Harcourt’s ‘Human Biogeography’, I am glad that I was given the opportunity to review it. Not a specialist in biogeography, my interests lie in humans, especially in what makes us human. And this is what this book is about, as stated in the introduction: “This book is about how and why our species, Homo sapiens sapiens, is distributed around the world in the way it is—why we are what we are where we are” (p. 1). Over the years, important works have been conducted in biogeog- raphy and important phenomena and their impact in shaping life have been described (e.g. Berg- mann 1847, Wallace 1876, MacArthur and Wilson 1967, Rapoport 1982). However, their implications in shaping humanity in its complexity still remain unclear (e.g. Bromage and Schrenck 1999, Binford 2001). As scientific disciplines are more frag- mented than ever and over-specialization in aca- demia tends to create boundaries between fields of study, and researchers, this book is most wel- come because it bridges the many topics that can be related to shaping human diversity and differ- ences. It presents in a very clear manner the inter- correlation of geographical and temporal factors which may (or may not) contribute to understand- ing past and current human biological and cultural variability, as well as past and current human dis- tribution on Earth. After a brief introduction assessing the need to study humans in a biogeographical frame- work (‘Humans and Biogeography’), Harcourt de- velops his ideas through three main parts. ‘Why and How Are We Where We Are?’ introduces an- thropological studies in an historical perspective (i.e. historical biogeography, phylogeography), while the second and third parts are focused on mechanisms that explain our distribution and di- versity in both biological (‘Environmental Influ- ences on Human Nature, Diversity and Numbers’) and cultural perspectives (‘Interaction Among Cul- tures and Species’). This organization brings the reader to understand the intricate and intercon- nected nature of human diversity in its historical, biological and cultural dimensions. Harcourt’s syn- thesis is extremely well documented (the bibliog- raphy references no less than 861 studies). It is a gold mine of information and large amounts of data are presented in the book itself. There is no simplification of the themes developed in the book, and Harcourt stresses particularly the com- plicated patterns that underlie the study of hu- man biogeography. For instance while reviewing and describing the various ‘rules’ which may ex- plain biological diversity and geographical distri- bution of species, Harcourt constantly reminds the reader that such ‘rules’ are never perfect “because not all comparisons show the relation- ships” (p. 96) in humans and other species. He underlines this important fact by calling those rules ‘effects’ (i.e. Bergmann effect, Darwin– Rapoport effect, etc.). Harcourt not only reviews these various ‘effects’ but also puts them in per- spective with ongoing scientific debates about their applicability. As an example, both cultural and species diversity are higher in the tropics than at any other latitudes and controversies (e.g. Fincher and Thornhill 2008, Currie and Mace 2009, Fincher and Thornhill 2012, Mace and Currie 2012) exist in the scientific community about the many hypotheses that exist to explain this (e.g. biological mechanisms such as diversity of para- sites, environmental heterogeneity, energy avail- able, productivity; or physical, environmental mechanisms such as environmental stability, area). Harcourt offers additional hypotheses and perspectives that may help to resolve those de- bates. Furthermore, the book presents intricate hypotheses and patterns with clear and straight- forward examples, which are not without humour: Harcourt often refers to his personal situation (being married with an American) and to the cul- tural difference existing between the English and the French. I really enjoyed reading ‘Human Biogeogra- phy’; Harcourt’s clear writing brings the reader to understand the numerous mechanisms that may frontiers of biogeography 6.1, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society