The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyPenguin Adult, 2003 M05 29 - 288 pages Around 60,000 years ago, a man, identical to us in all important respects, walked the soil of Africa. Every man alive today is descended from him. How did he come to be father to all of us - a real-life Adam? And why do we come in such a huge variety of sizes, shapes, types and races if we all share a single prehistoric ancestor?
In this fascinating book, Spencer Wells shows how the truth about our ancestors is hidden in our genetic code, and reveals how developments in the cutting-edge science of population genetics have made it possible not just to discover where our ancestors lived (and who they may have fought, loved, learned from and influence) but to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. |
From inside the book
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... define a species ? The accepted definition since the mid- twentieth century is that of an interbreeding ( or potentially ... defined , blatantly racist category he called monstrosus - which included Darwin's Fuegians , among other groups ...
... defined solely by M89 , which would have characterized the earliest Middle Eastern populations around 45,000 years ago , is simply not very common in western Europe . It is such a tiny hop across the Bosporus from the Middle East to ...
... defined by our friend from the last chapter M173 , which links Europe back to central Asia . Only 20 per cent of European Y - chromosomes - defined by more recent markers , particu- larly one known as M172 - derive from Neolithic Middle ...