The Human Inheritance
Genes, Language, and Evolution
Seiten
1999
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-850274-6 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-850274-6 (ISBN)
Evolution is fraught with controversy. Working from what is essentially the same data, opinions have come to opposite conclusions. Enter genetics as a source of objective data, and surely the old questions would soon be settled. This text brings together contributors to debate these questions.
Very little excites human curiosity quite so much as contemplating human origins. More than any other branch of science, evolution - and human evolution in particular - is fraught with controversy. Working from what is essentially the same data, schools of opinion have come to diametrically opposed conclusions. Are we adapted Neanderthals, or a new species altogether which wiped them out? Did the first Americans enter the continent 30,000 or 12,000 years ago? Did the Polynesians sail against wind and current to an unknown fate, or were they just blown across from South America while out fishing? Why do we speak different languages? Is it because language traces our biological history, or are the two things completely unrelated? Evolution, because it deals with a past that can never conclusively be known, was once ideal material for perpetual debate. Enter genetics with a completely new source of objective data. Surely these old questions would soon be settled one way or another. Or would they? Bryan Sykes brings together a world-class set of contributors to debate these questions. The result is eight lively essays, each of which offers a different opinion about what the links between genes, language, and the archaeological record can tell us about human evolution - and indeed, whether they can tell us anything conclusive at all. This stimulating and challenging book poses more questions than it offers answers, eschews jargon, and pursues controversy. Guaranteed to fascinate anyone who has ever wondered how the fossil record, the incredible diversity of human language, and our genetic inheritance might combine to give a glimpse of human origins.
Very little excites human curiosity quite so much as contemplating human origins. More than any other branch of science, evolution - and human evolution in particular - is fraught with controversy. Working from what is essentially the same data, schools of opinion have come to diametrically opposed conclusions. Are we adapted Neanderthals, or a new species altogether which wiped them out? Did the first Americans enter the continent 30,000 or 12,000 years ago? Did the Polynesians sail against wind and current to an unknown fate, or were they just blown across from South America while out fishing? Why do we speak different languages? Is it because language traces our biological history, or are the two things completely unrelated? Evolution, because it deals with a past that can never conclusively be known, was once ideal material for perpetual debate. Enter genetics with a completely new source of objective data. Surely these old questions would soon be settled one way or another. Or would they? Bryan Sykes brings together a world-class set of contributors to debate these questions. The result is eight lively essays, each of which offers a different opinion about what the links between genes, language, and the archaeological record can tell us about human evolution - and indeed, whether they can tell us anything conclusive at all. This stimulating and challenging book poses more questions than it offers answers, eschews jargon, and pursues controversy. Guaranteed to fascinate anyone who has ever wondered how the fossil record, the incredible diversity of human language, and our genetic inheritance might combine to give a glimpse of human origins.
Dr. Bryan Sykes is based at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS. Tel. 01865 222404 Fax 01865 222498 Email bsykes@molbiol. ox.ac.uk
Introduction ; 1. Reflections on the archaeology of linguistic diversity ; 2. The fossil record of the evolution of Homo sapiens ; 3. Language classification: scientific and unscientific methods ; 4. Human evolution: our turbulent genes and why we are not chimps ; 5. Using genes to map population structure and origins ; 6. Ancient DNA ; 7. Language and genes in the Americas ; 8. Human genetic diversity and disease susceptibility
Erscheint lt. Verlag | 1.1.2000 |
---|---|
Zusatzinfo | line illustrations |
Verlagsort | Oxford |
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 145 x 224 mm |
Gewicht | 355 g |
Themenwelt | Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution |
Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Genetik / Molekularbiologie | |
Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Humanbiologie | |
Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie | |
Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
ISBN-10 | 0-19-850274-5 / 0198502745 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-850274-6 / 9780198502746 |
Zustand | Neuware |
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