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
Results 1-3 of 16
... favour of a standardized , flat - profile plastic bottle now used by all drinks manufacturers . There is minor size variation - 2 - litre juggernauts are common in the UK and America , while continental Europe opts for a slightly more ...
... favoured plants ) and still gather enough food to survive . Middle Eastern archaeologists have found that the end of ... favour grasses , which produce seeds in the spring and then lie dormant over the summer . Early humans would have ...
... favour human behaviour . While some hunter - gatherers practised forms of environmental control ( the Australians , for instance , burned scrubland periodically in order to favour the grassland animals they hunted ) , the early ...