Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our AncestorsIn just the last few years an explosion of discoveries - driven by information from the human genome - has empowered researchers to address many long-standing questions about the deep human past. Nicholas Wade has drawn on the new findings to present the first portrait of a special and hitherto mysterious group of human ancestors - the ancestral human population that lived in Africa 50,000 years ago and from whom everyone in the world today is descended. The human line evolved slowly from African apes until, quite recently in the timescale of human history, it acquired a novel faculty, the gift of language. With this transformation, humans became more innovative and their societies more cohesive. People were at last able to burst out of the African homeland where the stronger Neanderthals had long confined them, and then to inhabit the rest of the world. |
What people are saying - Write a review
User ratings
5 stars |
| ||
4 stars |
| ||
3 stars |
| ||
2 stars |
| ||
1 star |
|
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
LibraryThing Review
User Review - JBGUSA - LibraryThingAbsolutely fascinating book about the dawn of man. The book traces the travels of the human race after groups of them left the great rift Valley of Africa. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - LisCarey - LibraryThingNicholas Wade discusses how the growing science of genetics expands and deepens our understanding of human evolution, our relationship to our closest relatives, and how we became the species we are ... Read full review
Contents
GENETICS GENESIS | 1 |
FIRST WORDS | 35 |
EDEN | 51 |
EXODUS | 74 |
STASIS | 100 |
SETTLEMENT | 123 |
SOCIALITY | 139 |
RACE | 181 |
LANGUAGE | 202 |
HISTORY | 233 |
EVOLUTION | 264 |
Notes | 281 |
Acknowledgments | 297 |
About the Author 313 | |
Other editions - View all
Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors Nicholas Wade No preview available - 2007 |
Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors Nicholas Wade No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
adapted Africa American ancestral ancient animals apes appearance archaeologists Asia Aurignacian become behavior believe body brain branch called carry cause chimpanzees chimps chromosome communities continent culture descendants developed diseases dogs domesticated early East emerged Europe European evidence evolution evolutionary evolved existence fact favored females finding followed foraging genes genetic geneticists genome given groups human population idea individuals Jefferson Jewish known language larger later least less lineages linguists lived look male meaning method million mitochondrial DNA modern humans mutations natural Neanderthals northern occurred origin perhaps period Pleistocene possible present presumably probably proto-Indo-European races reached reason recent record region Richard seems selection settled single skin social societies southern species spread started stone suggests tion tree University warfare women writes