Reflections of our past : how human history is revealed in our genes / John H. Relethford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Relethford, John.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human evolution.

Human genetics.

Physical Description:

xi, 257 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. ; Oxford : Westview, 2003.

Summary:

Where did modern humans come from and how important are the biological differences among us? Are we descended from Neandertals? How many races of people are there? Were Native Americans the first settlers of the New World? How can we tell if Thomas Jefferson had a child with Sally Hemings? Can we see evidence of Viking rampages of a millennium ago in the Irish of today? Through an engaging examination of issues such as these, and using nontechnical language, Reflections of Our Past shows how anthropologists use genetic information of many kinds to test theories and define possible answers to fundamental questions in human history. By looking at genetic variation in the world today, distinguished physical anthropologist John H. Relethford reconstructs the recent and remote events and processes that have created the variation we see, providing a fascinating reflection of our genetic past.

Contents:

Preface: A Time Machine ix

1 The History in Our Genes 1

In Search of History 2

Genetics and Human History 8

2 The Naked Ape 15

Our Place in Nature 17

Who Is Our Closest Living Relative? 20

Genetic Comparisons of Apes and Humans 22

Dating the Split 30

What Is the Real Family Tree? 36

Hominids or Hominins? 38

3 Do You Know Where Your Ancestors Are? 43

A Quick Summary of Human Evolution 44

How Many Species? 46

The Origin of Modern Humans 50

The Fossil Record 54

"Mitochondrial Eve" 57

Gene Trees and Human Ancestry 63

Patterns of Human Genetic Diversity 65

Population Size, Genetic Drift, and Human Evolution 66

How Many Ancestors? 70

Mostly Out of Africa? 72

4 The Fate of the Neandertals 75

The Fossil Record of Neandertals 78

The Discovery of Neandertal DNA 80

More Neandertal DNA 84

Neandertals: Different Species or Different Subspecies? 84

Where Did All the Neandertal Sequences Go? 87

European Affinities of Neandertal DNA 91

Where Did They Go? 95

5 The Palimpsest of the Past 101

Measuring Human Genetic Diversity 103

Global Genetic Diversity and Isolation by Distance 110

Genetic Diversity Between Populations and Individuals 119

The Palimpsest Revisited 122

6 The First Americans 123

Where Did the First Americans Come From? 124

The Genetic Link Between Asia and North America 127

How Many Migrations? 134

When Was the New World First Inhabited? 137

Kennewick Man 139

Past and Present 142

7 Prehistoric Europe: The Spread of Farming or the Spread of Farmers? 145

Origins of Agriculture 147

The Origin of Agriculture in Europe 148

Cultural Diffusion Versus Demic Diffusion 149

Genetic Evidence for Demic Diffusion 153

The Genetic Contribution from Neolithic Farmers 157

What Else Was Happening in Europe? 159

Peeling Away the Layers 164

8 Voyagers of the Pacific 167

Where Did the Polynesians Come From? 168

Genetic Distances and Polynesia 172

What Does Mitochondrial DNA Tell Us? 174

The Evidence from Y Chromosomes 178

Where in Asia? 179

Consensus? 181

A Thought about Expansions 183

9 Three Tales from Ireland 187

The Origin of the Irish Travellers 192

English Gene Flow in the Aran Islands 194

Invasions, Settlements, and Irish History 201

10 Admixture, History, and Cultural Identity 207

The Genetics of Admixture 208

Admixture in Mexicans and Mexican Americans 211

Admixture in African Americans 214

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings 219

Genetic Admixture and the Jewish Diaspora 223

Genetic Ancestry and Cultural Identity 230.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-248) and index.

ISBN:

0813339588

OCLC:

52350687