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 58
Page 7
... species, albeit with his Victorian class-influenced view of humanity. He even compares them favourably with the sailors on the Beagle when discussing superstitions, and blames their generally lower level of material culture on an ...
... species, albeit with his Victorian class-influenced view of humanity. He even compares them favourably with the sailors on the Beagle when discussing superstitions, and blames their generally lower level of material culture on an ...
Page 8
... species? The accepted definition since the midtwentieth century is that of an interbreeding (or potentially interbreeding, in the case of widely dispersed species) group of organisms. In other words, if it is possible to reproduce young ...
... species? The accepted definition since the midtwentieth century is that of an interbreeding (or potentially interbreeding, in the case of widely dispersed species) group of organisms. In other words, if it is possible to reproduce young ...
Page 14
... produces evolution. At its most basic level, evolution is simply a change in the genetic composition of a species over time. Thus in order to assess how closely related individuals are - in particular whether they form a single.
... produces evolution. At its most basic level, evolution is simply a change in the genetic composition of a species over time. Thus in order to assess how closely related individuals are - in particular whether they form a single.
Page 15
... species - it is important to know something about their genes. If the genes are the same, then they are the same species. What physical anthropology desperately needed was a collection of varying traits — known as polymorphisms, from ...
... species - it is important to know something about their genes. If the genes are the same, then they are the same species. What physical anthropology desperately needed was a collection of varying traits — known as polymorphisms, from ...
Page 17
... species. Lewontin likes to give the example that if a nuclear war were to happen, and only the Kikuyu of Kenya (or the Tamils, or the Balinese . . .) survived, then that group would still have 85 per cent of the genetic variation found ...
... species. Lewontin likes to give the example that if a nuclear war were to happen, and only the Kikuyu of Kenya (or the Tamils, or the Balinese . . .) survived, then that group would still have 85 per cent of the genetic variation found ...
Contents
1 | |
4Coasting Away | 61 |
Leaps and Bounds 8 | 81 |
Blood from a Stone 8The Importance of Culture 6 | 184 |
Acknowledgements | 197 |
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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