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
Page
... Asia, which he continued after moving to Oxford University in 1999. After heading the population genetics research group at Oxford's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, he served briefly as research director at an American ...
... Asia, which he continued after moving to Oxford University in 1999. After heading the population genetics research group at Oxford's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, he served briefly as research director at an American ...
Page ix
... 61 5 Leaps and Bounds 8' 6The Main Line 10° 7 Blood from a Stone 8The Importance of Culture “6 9Tne Final Big Bang "*4 Acknowledgements 197 Further Reading 199 Index 2.08 Maps Southern Asia 62. North-east Africa and the Middle East,
... 61 5 Leaps and Bounds 8' 6The Main Line 10° 7 Blood from a Stone 8The Importance of Culture “6 9Tne Final Big Bang "*4 Acknowledgements 197 Further Reading 199 Index 2.08 Maps Southern Asia 62. North-east Africa and the Middle East,
Page xi
A Genetic Odyssey Spencer Wells. Maps Southern Asia 62. North-east Africa and the Middle East, showing the locations of desert and steppe 82. Eurasia, showing the mountain ranges of central Asia and the Eurasian steppe belt 102. Figures ...
A Genetic Odyssey Spencer Wells. Maps Southern Asia 62. North-east Africa and the Middle East, showing the locations of desert and steppe 82. Eurasia, showing the mountain ranges of central Asia and the Eurasian steppe belt 102. Figures ...
Page xv
... journeyofman. As this book was going to press, this website was in preparation. I have been lucky enough to work with Mark on several occasions, both in the course of sample-collecting expeditions in Asia and Preface xv.
... journeyofman. As this book was going to press, this website was in preparation. I have been lucky enough to work with Mark on several occasions, both in the course of sample-collecting expeditions in Asia and Preface xv.
Page xvi
... Asia and during the making of the film. He is a talented and dedicated artist, and his work adds enormously to the book. Mark's photographs reflect the way people actually live today, because our knowledge of genetic history is inferred ...
... Asia and during the making of the film. He is a talented and dedicated artist, and his work adds enormously to the book. Mark's photographs reflect the way people actually live today, because our knowledge of genetic history is inferred ...
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