Bones, Stones and Molecules : "Out of Africa" and Human Origins
by David W. Cameron and Colin P. Groves
Academic Press | June 2004 | ISBN-10: 0121569330 | PDF | 400 pages | 11.2 mb
http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Stones-Molecules-Africa-Origins/dp/0121569330
Bones, Stones and Molecules provides some of the best evidence for resolving the debate between the two hypotheses of human origins. The debate between the 'Out of Africa' model and the 'Multiregional' hypothesis is examined through the functional and developmental processes associated with the evolution of the human skull and face and focuses on the significance of the Australian record. The book analyzes important new discoveries that have occurred recently and examines evidence that is not available elsewhere. Cameron and Groves argue that the existing evidence supports a recent origin for modern humans from Africa. They also specifically relate these two theories to interpretations of the origins of the first Australians. The book provides an up-to-date interpretation of the fossil, archaeological and the molecular evidence, specifically as it relates to Asia, and Australia in particular.
* Readily accessible to the layperson and professional
* Provides concise coverage of current scientific evidence
* Presents a robust computer-generated model of human speciation over the last 7 million years
* Well illustrated with figures and photographs of important fossil specimens
* Presents a synthesis of great ape and human evolution
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................ix
Preface ....................................................................................................xi
1. Introduction ..........................................................................................1
Interlude 1: Creationism and Other Brainstorms........................................29
2. Evolution of the Miocene Great Apes ..................................................35
3. The Later Miocene and Early Pliocene Hominids .................................59
Interlude 2: The Importance of Being an Ape............................................79
4. Our Kind of Hominins..........................................................................83
5. A Systematic Scheme for the Pliocene and Early
Pleistocene Hominids .............................................................................105
Interlude 3: Of Men’s Beards and Peacock’s Tails ..................................151
6. The First African Exodus: The Emergence of Early Homo
in Europe and Asia..................................................................................157
7. Human Evolution in the Middle Pleistocene...........................................181
Interlude 4: The Geography of Humanity...................................................201
8. “The Grisly Folk”: The Emergence of the Neanderthals..........................207
9. The Second African Exodus: The Emergence of
Modern Humans .....................................................................................233
10. The Emergence of Modern Humans in Asia and Australia ...................251
Interlude 5: Milford Wolpoff in the Garden of Eden ..................................275
11. Epilogue.............................................................................................279
Appendix: Detailed Description of Characters (DWC)...............................287
References ..............................................................................................345
Index ......................................................................................................395
