Human Evolution

Over a century of excavation and research has provided vast amounts of fossile and other evidence of our ancestors from the ape-like hominids of 3 million years ago to the cave-dwelling Cro-Magnon people who lived in Europe 35,000 years ago. The significance of these discoveries has often been the subject to heated debate among experts. In particular, the dating and relationships of the various species to one another has provided much controversy. However, in recent decades, the development of new dating techniques and new means of establishing genetic relationships has begun to offer dramatic new insights into our past. The present title traces the history of the human lineage through the fascinating complexities of the fossile and archaeological records, integrating principles from evolutionary theory and the study of living primates. The author concludes the book with a section on contemporary humans that thoughtfully illustrates how understanding evolutionary processes and human evolutionary processes and human evolutionary history can produce important insights into contemporary human nature.