The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyRandom House Publishing Group, 2012 M10 31 - 240 pages Around 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. |
From inside the book
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Page xv
... developed over the course of half a century, have been greatly influenced by Luca Cavalli-Sforza, with whom I was lucky enough to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford in the 1990s. It was Luca's insight, as a geneticist with a ...
... developed over the course of half a century, have been greatly influenced by Luca Cavalli-Sforza, with whom I was lucky enough to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford in the 1990s. It was Luca's insight, as a geneticist with a ...
Page xvi
... developed the methods for rediscovering them. However, our research does not take place in a vacuum, and science can sometimes run roughshod over cultural beliefs. I would hope that this book might be a small step towards changing the ...
... developed the methods for rediscovering them. However, our research does not take place in a vacuum, and science can sometimes run roughshod over cultural beliefs. I would hope that this book might be a small step towards changing the ...
Page 5
... developed a keen interest in science during his childhood. While he had the usual chemistry accidents, especially with his older brother Erasmus - with whom he once destroyed a garden shed-cum-laboratory when an experiment went ...
... developed a keen interest in science during his childhood. While he had the usual chemistry accidents, especially with his older brother Erasmus - with whom he once destroyed a garden shed-cum-laboratory when an experiment went ...
Page 10
... developed in the nineteenth century as 'that science which has for its object the study of mankind as a whole, in its parts, and in relation with the rest of nature'. More than anyone else, the Frenchman Paul Broca — who IO The Journey ...
... developed in the nineteenth century as 'that science which has for its object the study of mankind as a whole, in its parts, and in relation with the rest of nature'. More than anyone else, the Frenchman Paul Broca — who IO The Journey ...
Page 11
... developed a detailed classification of humanity based on these subtle variations. Broca's methods, disseminated in a highly influential textbook, served to galvanize the scientific community. Soon everyone wanted to measure skulls. In ...
... developed a detailed classification of humanity based on these subtle variations. Broca's methods, disseminated in a highly influential textbook, served to galvanize the scientific community. Soon everyone wanted to measure skulls. In ...
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