Exactly how modern humans evolved is a subject of intense debate. This book deals with the evolution of modern humans from an archaic ancestor and the differentiation of modern populations from each other. The first section of the book investigates whether modern populations arose from regional archaic hominid groups that were already different from each other, and argues that in fact, most lines of evidence support a single, recent origin of modern humans in Africa. Dr Lahr then goes on to examine ways in which this diversification could have occurred, given what we know from fossils, archaeological remains and the relationships of existing populations today. This book will be a must for all those interested in human evolution.
• Fresh perspective on this area of intense debate by rising young star • Brings new evidence to the debate about whether we all arose from a single African population or from many different groups of early humans • Complete bibliography on late human evolution and modern human populations
Contents
1. Introduction; 2. The modern human origins debate; Part I. Multiregional Evolution as the Source of Human Cranial Diversity: 3. The morphological basis of the multiregional model; 4. The regional expression of the East Asian and Australian continuity traits; 5. Temporal distribution of the 'Regional Continuity Traits' in late Pleistocene hominids; 6. The independence of expression of the 'Regional Continuity Traits'; 7. Multiregional evolution as the source of recent regional cranial diversity; a review; Part II. The Evolution of Modern Human Cranial Diversity from a Single Ancestral Source: 8. Cranial variation in Homo sapiens; 9. Morphological differentiation from a single ancestral source; 10. Geographical differentiation from a single ancestral source; 11. The evolution of modern human cranial diversity; 12. Final conclusions; References; Index.
Reviews
'Lahr deserves a lot of credit for her very thorough presentation of so much evidence. Supporters of multi-regional evolution will be hard pressed to counter her main points.' Tree
' … an important study … likely to remain an essential reference in the debate over recent human evolution for the foreseeable future.' Alan Bilsborough, Annals of Human Biology
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