With the same unparalleled art and inquiry-based pedagogy as the best-selling Our Origins, Essentials of Physical Anthropology is the ideal text for focusing students' attention on what really matters and why. Author Clark Larsen, one of the world's leading physical anthropologists, has worked hard to develop a tight narrative, covering only the most pertinent, most up-to-date information that students should know. Pedagogical features in every chapter keep students focused on the core concepts and "big questions" in physical anthropology. An extensive art program, including figures, photos, maps, and bubble captions, brings concepts to life.

CLARK SPENCER LARSEN heads the Department of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, Columbus. A native of Nebraska, he received his B.A. from Kansas State University and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Clark’s research is in bioarchaeology, skeletal biology, and paleoanthropology. He has worked in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Northern Illinois University, Purdue University, and the University of North Carolina. Since 2001, he has been a member of the faculty at Ohio State, where he is Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He teaches introductory physical anthropology, osteology, bioarchaeology, and paleoanthropology. Clark has served as president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. In addition to Our Origins and Essentials of Physical Anthropology: Discovering Our Origins, he has authored or edited 25 books and monographs, including Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton, Skeletons in Our Closet, and Advances in Dental Anthropology.