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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... moved to the edge of the forest to take advantage of resources offered by the grasslands . But while forest - dwelling apes are gatherers ( chimpanzees occasionally kill and eat monkeys , but their diet consists primarily of fruit and ...
... moved further afield in search of cultivable land . When they did so , they carried with them their genetic markers . One of the consequences of this is that we see the expansion of certain genetic lineages , giving us a glimpse of the ...
... moved . - In Chapter 6 we learned that one descendant lineage of M9 , defined by a marker known as M175 , is widespread in east Asia . Based on its present distribution , this marker probably arose initially in northern China or Korea ...