Unique in bringing an interdisciplinary approach to the Out of Africa hypothesis.
This is the first volume to address directly the question of the speciation of modern Homo sapiens. The subject raises the issues of the nature of the species, our defining characteristic (it is suggested it is language), and the brain changes and their genetic basis that make us distinct. The British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences have brought together experts from palaeontology, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, genetics and evolutionary theory to present evidence and theories at the cutting edge of our understanding of these issues.
Palaeontological and genetic work suggests that the transition from a precursor hominid species to modern man took place between 100,000 and 150,000 years ago. Some contributors discuss what is most characteristic of the species, focussing on language and its possible basis in brain lateralization. This work is placed in the context of speciation theory, which has remained a subject of considerable debate since the evolutionary synthesis of of Mendelian genetics and Darwinian theory. The timing of specific transitions in hominid evolution is discussed, as also is the question of the neural basis of language. Other contributors address the possible genetic nature of the transition, with reference to changes on the X and Y chromosomes that may account for sex differences in lateralization and verbal ability. These differences are discussed in terms of the theory of sexual selection, and with reference to the mechanisms of speciation.
These essays will be required reading for those interested in the nature and origins of the species, and specifically human abilities. Readership: Scholars and students of human evolution, palaeontologists, archaeologists, linguists, psychologists, geneticists.
The volume is edited by Dr Timothy Crow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
The papers arise from a joint conference of the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences, 28 March 2000.
| - Crow, Tim J, Introduction
| | I. THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES |
- Stringer, Chris, The Morphological and Behavioural Origins of Modern Humans
- Mellars, Paul, Archaeology and the Origins of Modern Humans: European and African Perspectives
- Tattersall, Ian, The Case for Saltational Events in Human Evolution
- Collard, Mark, Grades and Transitions in Human Evolution
| | II. LANGUAGE AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE BRAIN |
- Bickerton, Derek, From Protolanguage to Language
- Ploog, Detlev, Is the Neural Basis of Vocalisation Different in Non-Human Primates and Homo sapiens?
- Corballis, Michael C, Laterality and Human Speciation
- Steele, James, When did Directional Asymmetry Enter the Record?
- Cook, Norman D, Bihemispheric Language: How the Two Hemispheres Collaborate in the Processing of Language
| | III. THE SEARCH FOR A CRITICAL EVENT |
- Crow, Tim J, Sexual Selection, Timing and an X–Y Homologous Gene: Did Homo sapiens Speciate on the Y Chromosome?
- Tyler-Smith, Chris, What Can the Y Chromosome Tell Us about the Origin of Modern Humans?
- Sargent, Carole A, Blanco, Patricia & Affara, Nabeel A, Do the Hominid-Specific Regions of X–Y Homology Contain Candidate Genes Potentially Involved in a Critical Event Linked to Speciation?
- Reinhold, Klaus, Preferential Sex Linkage of Sexually Selected Genes: Evidence and a New Explanation
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