The Neck

A Natural and Cultural History

Kent Dunlap (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

336 Seiten

2025
University of California Press (Verlag)
978-0-520-39303-5 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

“Fascinating discourse [that] travels through anatomy, paleontology, anthropology, the arts, the zoo, museums, medicine, murder and more. . . . Superb."―Wall Street Journal

A 300-million-year tour of the prominent role of the neck in animal evolution and human culture.

Humans give a lot of attention to the neck. We decorate it with jewelry and ties, kiss it passionately, and use it to express ourselves in word and song. Yet, at the neck, people have also shackled their prisoners, executed their opponents, and slain their victims. Beyond the drama of human culture, animals have evolved their necks into a staggering variety of shapes and uses vital to their lifestyles. The Neck delves into evolutionary time to solve a living paradox—why is our neck so central to our survival and culture, but so vulnerable to injury and disease?

Biologist Kent Dunlap shows how the neck's vulnerability is not simply an unfortunate quirk of evolution. Its weaknesses are intimately connected to the vessels, pipes, and glands that make it so vital to existence. Fun and far-reaching, The Neck explores the diversity of forms and functions of the neck in humans and other animals and shows how this small anatomical transition zone has been a locus of incredible evolutionary and cultural creativity.

Kent Dunlap is Professor of Biology at Trinity College, Hartford, where he teaches physiology and anatomy and conducts research on the neurobiology and behavior of fishes (animals without necks!). In the summers, he also makes pottery and sculpts ceramic animals.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Preface: Vital & Vulnerable

1. Why & What
The Rationale and Contents of the Neck

2. Posture & Pose
Holding the Head

3. Panorama & Gesture
Moving the Head

4. Tubes & Transport
Conduits to the Torso

5. Pace & Scaffolding
Hormones of the Neck

6. Word & Flesh
Speech and Song at the Neck

7. Courtship & Attraction
Sexual Communication at the Neck

8. Membership & Status
Signaling Identity at the Neck

9. Power & Politics
Aggression and Control at the Neck

10. Shields & Saints
Protection and Healing at the Neck

Epilogue: Created & Crafted
The Necks of Pottery Vases

List of Illustrations
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	25.01.2025
Zusatzinfo	25 b-w images
Verlagsort	Berkerley
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	590 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
ISBN-10	0-520-39303-1 / 0520393031
ISBN-13	978-0-520-39303-5 / 9780520393035
Zustand	Neuware