Biological Perspectives on Human Pigmentation Contributor(s): Robins, Ashley H. (Author), Ashley H., Robins (Author), Mascie-Taylor, C. G. Nicholas (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0521365147 ISBN-13: 9780521365147 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $139.65 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 1991 Annotation: Skin color is perhaps the most decisive and abused physical characteristic of humankind. This book presents a multidisciplinary overview of how and why human populations vary so markedly in their skin color. The biological aspects of the pigment cell and its production of melanin are reviewed. The functions of melanin in the skin, brain, eye and ear are considered, and the common clinical abnormalities of pigmentation, such as albinism, are described and illustrated. Detailed reflectance data from worldwide surveys of skin color are also presented. Next, historical and contemporary backgrounds of the phenomenon are explored in relation to the so-called color problem in society. Finally, the possible evolutionary forces that shape human pigmentation are assessed. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Physical - Science | Life Sciences - Biology - Science | Life Sciences - Zoology - Primatology |
Dewey: 573.5 |
LCCN: 90015121 |
Series: Cambridge Studies in French |
Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6" W x 9" (1.24 lbs) 268 pages |