The Eye, Color Vision, and Color and Culture

Here is a working list of articles and resources for understanding vision, color perception, and cultural relationships with both:

The Evolution and History of the Eye and Color Vision:
• R. D. Russell, "Evoltuion of Eyes" Current Opinion in Neurobiology 10: 444-450, 2000.

• J. Neitz et al., "Color Vision: Almost Reason Enough for Having Eyes," Optics and Photonics News Jan: 26-33, 2001.

• J. Nathans et al., "Molecular Genetics of Human Color Vision: The Genes Encoding Blue, Green, and Red Pigments," Science 232: 193-202, 1986.

• C.W. Oyster, The Human Eye: Structure and Function. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA, 1999. Amazon.com link

• G.H. Jacobs, "The Distribution and Nature of Colour Vision Among the Mammals," Biological Reviews 68: 413-71, 1993.

• Y. Gilad et al., "Loss of Olfactory Receptor Genes Coincides With Acquisition of Full Trichromatic Vision in Primates," PLoS Biology 2(1): 0120-0125, 2004.

• B.B. Boycott et al., Color Vision: From Genes to Perception, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1999. Amazon.com link

• P. Summer and J.D. Mollon "Chromaticity as Signal of Ripeness of Fruits Taken by Primates," Journal of Experimental Biology 203: 1987-2000, 2000.


Studies on Food-Color Associations:
• H.R. Moskowitz, "Taste and Food Technology: Acceptability, Aesthetics, and Preference," Handbook of Perception, Via: 158-193, 1978.

• L.L. Garber et al., "Placing Food Color Experimentation Into a Valid Consumer Context," Food Quality & Preference 14(1): 41-43, 2003.

• T. Hine, The Total Package. Little, Brown, and Company, New York, NY, 1996. Amazon.com link


Color and Communication Among Animals (and Plants)
• M.Rodríguez-Gironés and L. Santamaria "Why Are So Many Bird Flowers Red?," PLoS Biology 2(10): 1515-1519, 2004.

• Amotz Zahavi and A. Zahavi, The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle. Oxford University Press, 1997. Amazon.com link

•Link: Zahavi's 'Handicap Principle' of costly signalling


Color, Human Communication and Color Perception:
•G. Hewes, "The Current Status of the Gestural Theory of Language Origin," Origins and Evolution of Language and Speech 280: 482-504, 1976.

• R.G. Klein and B. Edgar, The Dawn of Human Culture. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 2002. Amazon.com link

The Foundation Text of Human Color Perception and Terminology:
• B. Berlin and P. Kay, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1969. Amazon.com link

• E. Hering, Outlines of a Theory of the Light Sense. Harvard University Press, MA, 1878, 1964. Amazon.com link

• T. King, "Human Color Perception, Cognition, and Culture: Why 'Red' is Always Red," The Society for Imaging Science and Technology (The Reporter) 20(1): 1-7, Feb 2005.

A New and Definitive Text on Human Skin Color
• N. Jablonski, Skin: A Natural History. University of California Press, 2006. Amazon.com link