Essays in this title are culled from a 2005 conference at Cambridge, and examine the current issues in modern human behavioral, cognitive, biological, and demographic origins. Editors Mellars (archaeology, Cambridge) et al. divide the book into seven parts: biological and demographic perspectives on modern human origins, cognitive perspectives on modern human origins, the archaeological and behavioral records in southern and eastern Africa, the archaeological and behavioral records in central and northern Africa and the Near East, the demographic and archaeological records in Europe, the archaeological and behavioral records in central and eastern Europe, and Asian and Australasian perspectives. This title includes both an index of sites and an index of cited authors. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)