The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyPenguin Adult, 2003 M05 29 - 224 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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... remains of a malformed modern human , but it was later found to be a widespread and distinct species of ancestral hominid , christened Neanderthal Man after the site of its discovery . This was the first scientific recognition of a ...
... remains . The problem is that beyond about 40,000 years ago , the estimates of C - 14 : C - 12 ratios are not terribly accurate , since most of the C - 14 has already decayed . After 5,700 years , only half of the C - 14 originally ...
... remains from Chinese sites are found after 100,000 years ago - there is a gap in the record until fully modern Homo sapiens make their appearance around 40,000 years ago . What caused this hominid gap is unclear , although the likely ...