The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyRandom House Publishing Group, 2012 M10 31 - 240 pages Around 60,000 years ago, a man—genetically identical to us—lived in Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. How did this real-life Adam wind up as the father of us all? What happened to the descendants of other men who lived at the same time? And why, if modern humans share a single prehistoric ancestor, do we come in so many sizes, shapes, and races? Examining the hidden secrets of human evolution in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the revolutionary science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. Replete with marvelous anecdotes and remarkable information, from the truth about the real Adam and Eve to the way differing racial types emerged, The Journey of Man is an enthralling, epic tour through the history and development of early humankind. |
From inside the book
Results 6-10 of 51
Page 14
... data accumulated. There was only one problem with the growing mass of data on human morphological variation — there ... genetic component to human morphology, it is clear that dozens — probably hundreds — of separate genes control this ...
... data accumulated. There was only one problem with the growing mass of data on human morphological variation — there ... genetic component to human morphology, it is clear that dozens — probably hundreds — of separate genes control this ...
Page 16
... data in the first comprehensive summary of human biochemical diversity, The Distribution of the Human Blood Groups — a seminal work that became the standard text of experimental human population genetics for the next twenty years. This ...
... data in the first comprehensive summary of human biochemical diversity, The Distribution of the Human Blood Groups — a seminal work that became the standard text of experimental human population genetics for the next twenty years. This ...
Page 21
... data being generated by studies of polymorphisms needed a coherent ... genetic diseases (which were clearly 'abnormal') were some of the first ... genetic calculations using methods originally derived for analysing the diffusion of gases ...
... data being generated by studies of polymorphisms needed a coherent ... genetic diseases (which were clearly 'abnormal') were some of the first ... genetic calculations using methods originally derived for analysing the diffusion of gases ...
Page 22
A Genetic Odyssey Spencer Wells. another, then the increase in frequency from ... genetic variation was free from selection, while many scientists continue to ... data on blood group polymorphisms. But before that could happen, the field ...
A Genetic Odyssey Spencer Wells. another, then the increase in frequency from ... genetic variation was free from selection, while many scientists continue to ... data on blood group polymorphisms. But before that could happen, the field ...
Page 23
... genetic diversity. The first was that the genetic polymorphisms were ... data. With these key insights, they derived the first family tree of human ... gene frequencies are closest together, and that overall the relationship among the ...
... genetic diversity. The first was that the genetic polymorphisms were ... data. With these key insights, they derived the first family tree of human ... gene frequencies are closest together, and that overall the relationship among the ...
Contents
1 | |
4Coasting Away | 61 |
Leaps and Bounds 8 | 81 |
Blood from a Stone 8The Importance of Culture 6 | 184 |
Acknowledgements | 197 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
actually Adam Africa agriculture analysis ancient animals anthropologists apes appear archaeological Asian Australia Cavalli-Sforza cent central Asia China chromosomes clan classification climate coastal colleagues common ancestor continent culture Darwin defined descendants developed difficult earliest early human east Asia Eurasian Europe Europeans evidence evolution evolutionary expansion favour field find first frequency genes genetic data genetic diversity genetic variation geneticists genome hominid Homo erectus human genetic human migration human populations hunter-gatherers hunting ice age impala India Indo-European Indo-European languages infer ingredients journey known languages leap lifestyle linguistic living marker Middle East Middle Eastern migration mitochondrial DNA modern humans molecules mtDNA mutations Native Americans Neanderthals Neolithic northern nucleotide origin past perhaps polymorphisms population genetics recent region route sample scientific Siberia significant simply soup recipes south-east Asia southern species spoken spread steppe suggests thousands trace unique Upper Palaeolithic western Y-chromosome lineages