The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyAround 60,000 years ago, a man—genetically identical to us—lived in Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. How did this real-life Adam wind up as the father of us all? What happened to the descendants of other men who lived at the same time? And why, if modern humans share a single prehistoric ancestor, do we come in so many sizes, shapes, and races? Examining the hidden secrets of human evolution in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the revolutionary science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. Replete with marvelous anecdotes and remarkable information, from the truth about the real Adam and Eve to the way differing racial types emerged, The Journey of Man is an enthralling, epic tour through the history and development of early humankind. |
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What people are saying - Write a review
Review: The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey
User Review - Joe - GoodreadsConclusion of Wells' work is that we're all descendants of a single man who lived in Africa about 20,000 years ago. And he is convincing! Very interesting book, with some genetic science thrown in to spice it up (but it doesn't get in the way). Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - snash - LibraryThingThe book presents a picture of man's migrations between 60,000 and 10,000 years ago. It is a companion book with the TV special and provides more background into the scientific rational of the study and its conclusions. It is presented in a manner quite understandable to the lay person. Read full review
Contents
| 1 | |
4Coasting Away | 61 |
Leaps and Bounds 8 | 81 |
Blood from a Stone 8The Importance of Culture 6 | 184 |
Acknowledgements | 197 |
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Common terms and phrases
actually Adam Africa agriculture analysis ancient animals anthropologists apes appear archaeological Asian Australia Cavalli-Sforza cent central Asia China chromosomes clan classification climate coastal colleagues common ancestor continent culture Darwin defined descendants developed difficult earliest early human east Asia Eurasian Europe Europeans evidence evolution evolutionary expansion favour field find first frequency genes genetic data genetic diversity genetic variation geneticists genome hominid Homo erectus human genetic human migration human populations hunter-gatherers hunting ice age impala India Indo-European Indo-European languages infer ingredients journey known languages leap lifestyle linguistic living marker Middle East Middle Eastern migration mitochondrial DNA modern humans molecules mtDNA mutations Native Americans Neanderthals Neolithic northern nucleotide origin past perhaps polymorphisms population genetics recent region route sample scientific Siberia significant simply soup recipes south-east Asia southern species spoken spread steppe suggests thousands trace unique Upper Palaeolithic western Y-chromosome lineages
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey |
| Author | Spencer Wells |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Random House Publishing Group, 2012 |
| ISBN | 0307830454, 9780307830456 |
| Length | 240 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |