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 xvi
... simply need to learn how to read it. The Australian Aborigines maintain their sense of connection to their ancestors and their homeland through a musical story—something Bruce Chatwin and others have called a 'songline'. These songlines ...
... simply need to learn how to read it. The Australian Aborigines maintain their sense of connection to their ancestors and their homeland through a musical story—something Bruce Chatwin and others have called a 'songline'. These songlines ...
Page 5
... simply assume that the earth is constantly changing at a very gradual rate, and that over long periods of time these incremental steps produce significant results? It seemed so much easier to reconcile with the actual data, said Lyell ...
... simply assume that the earth is constantly changing at a very gradual rate, and that over long periods of time these incremental steps produce significant results? It seemed so much easier to reconcile with the actual data, said Lyell ...
Page 10
... simply a 'pure' science. Hrdlicka noted its utility in formulating eugenics programmes, as well as in determining immigration policy. While he may have been trying to impress funding agencies with the applicability of what many ...
... simply a 'pure' science. Hrdlicka noted its utility in formulating eugenics programmes, as well as in determining immigration policy. While he may have been trying to impress funding agencies with the applicability of what many ...
Page 14
... simply resemble each other superficially — by chance? It was impossible to know. Genetic variation was critical for the study of human diversity because is it is genetic change that actually produces evolution. At its most basic level ...
... simply resemble each other superficially — by chance? It was impossible to know. Genetic variation was critical for the study of human diversity because is it is genetic change that actually produces evolution. At its most basic level ...
Page 15
... simply too rare to be of any use in classification. Common, genetically simple polymorphisms were critical. These arrived in 1901, when Karl Landsteiner noticed an interesting reaction upon mixing the blood from two unrelated people ...
... simply too rare to be of any use in classification. Common, genetically simple polymorphisms were critical. These arrived in 1901, when Karl Landsteiner noticed an interesting reaction upon mixing the blood from two unrelated people ...
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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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