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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... species ? The accepted definition since the mid- twentieth century is that of an interbreeding ( or potentially inter- breeding , in the case of widely dispersed species ) group of organisms . In other words , if it is possible to ...
... species of the same region . It is therefore probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee ; and as these two species are now man's nearest allies , it is somewhat more probable ...
... species , but the size and density of any particular species is quite low . Furthermore , because all of the nutrients are tied up in organisms , the soil actually contains very little in the way of minerals and organic matter . In ...