The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Every once in a while, we have to reconsider the perennial questions concerning human nature: What are the special human behaviours, social practices, and psychological structures that make us particularly human? The field of evolution, psychology and cognitive science is the most expanding, inter-disciplinary area of this field for the time being, uniting different sciences under the same evolutionary paradigm and keeping them occupied by the same eternal questions stated above. Relevant data and theoretical considerations are piling up, but an overview is needed. To facilitate this a large inter-disciplinary conference entitled “Human Mind—Human Kind” was held at Aarhus University, Denmark. The studies fall into three well defined sections: 1) Evolution and Cognition—Comparative and Developmental Perspectives, 2) Human Sociality, Morality and Religiosity, 3) Human Sexuality and Mating Strategies. Specifying the differences between our own species and the rest of the animal world always provokes debate. But these demarcations simply have to be drawn once and again. They focus attention and stimulate research, exactly because they provoke and challenge other researchers to take up the glove and prove us wrong.

This generously illustrated book tells the story of the human family, showing how our species' physical traits and behaviors evolved over millions of years as our ancestors adapted to dramatic environmental changes. In What Does It Means to Be Human? Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program, and Chris Sloan, National Geographic's paleoanthropolgy expert, delve into our distant past to explain when, why, and how we acquired the unique biological and cultural qualities that govern our most fundamental connections and interactions with other people and with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, they conclude that we are the last survivors of a once-diverse family tree, and that our evolution was shaped by one of the most unstable eras in Earth's environmental history. The book presents a wealth of attractive new material especially developed for the Hall's displays, from life-like reconstructions of our ancestors sculpted by the acclaimed John Gurche to photographs from National Geographic and Smithsonian archives, along with informative graphics and illustrations. In coordination with the exhibit opening, the PBS program NOVA will present a related three-part television series, and the museum will launch a website expected to draw 40 million visitors.

Every once in a while, we have to reconsider the perennial questions concerning human nature: What are the special human behaviours, social practices, and psychological structures that makes us particularly human? The field of evolution, psychology and cognitive science is the most expanding, inter-disciplinary area for the time being, uniting different sciences under the same evolutionary paradigm and keeping them occupied by the same eternal questions stated above. Relevant data and theoretical considerations are pilling up, but an overview is needed. To facilitate this a large inter-disciplinary conference entitled Human Mind - Human Kind was held at University of Aarhus, Denmark. More than 100 experts presented their latest research, and after careful selection, 20 of these contributions have found their way to this volume. The studies fall into three well defined sections: Evolution and Cognition - Comparative and Developmental Perspectives, Human Sociality, Morality & Religiosity, Human Sexuality and Mating Strategies. Specifying the differences between our own species and the rest of the animal world always provokes debate. But these demarcations simply have to be drawn once and again. They focus attention and stimulate research, exactly because they provoke and challenge other researchers to take up the glove and prove us wrong.

It fills a void in the resources available to researchers and practitioners in forensic hair examination by providing photographic archetypes for the microscopic characteristics of human hair and the variates of the characteristics seen in forensic examinations, including curl; color; pigment distribution and density; cortical fusi; and ovoid bodie

Atlas of Human Cranial Macromorphoscopic Traits synthesizes macromorphoscopic traits and their analysis in an accessible manner, providing detailed descriptions and examples of the various character state manifestations intended for use in classrooms, laboratories, and in the field. The volume begins with an outline of the macromorphoscopic dataset, its history, recent modifications to the historical approach, and recent technological and analytical advances. Additional sections cover Nomenclature, Gross Anatomy, Function, Methodology, Line Drawings, Detailed Definitions, Multiple High-resolution Photographs, and Population Variation Data from the Macromorphoscopic Databank (MaMD). The volume concludes with a chapter outlining the statistical analysis of macromorphoscopic data and a summary of the computer programs and reference databases available to forensic anthropologists for the analysis of these data. Provides detailed descriptions, illustrations and high-resolution images of various character state manifestations of seventeen macromorphoscopic traits Applies to both forensic and bioarcheological research Written by the foremost expert on macromorphoscopic trait analysis and estimation of ancestry in forensic anthropology

"Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.