Aspects of the prehistory of the Americas currently remain little understood, with suggested dates for the first human colonization varying widely between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago. In this volume molecular geneticists and historical linguists debate the evidence for the first peopling of the Americas, and for the subsequent emergence of the remarkable genetic and linguistic diversity still seen among Native Americans to this day. The arguments against the controversial 'three waves of migration' proposal made by the distinguished linguist Joseph Greenberg are scrutinized. Special attention is given to the theme of 'population-specific polymorphism', that is to say the presence in significant frequencies in individual tribes, language groups or other population units of particular genetic features which serve to distinguish them from other populations. Detailed consideration is given to the case of the Yanomama of the Lowland Amazon. For comparative purposes a case study of long-term continuity among Jewish priests in Israel using Y-chromosome analysis is examined.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Revolutionary new methodology,
By Charles T. G. Watkinson "Charles Watkinson" (Princeton, New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: America Past, America Present: Genes and Languages (Papers in the Prehistory of Languages) (Paperback)
There are some questions about the past which archaeologists are afraid to face up to. Anything involving genetic research, racial groupings, or Native American ethnicity is anathema to most scholars who want to keep on the right side of tenure committees. Colin Renfrew is head of the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research at Cambridge University so he can afford to go out on a limb. For decades he has been one of archaeology's most creative thinkers, and this book shows that he has not lost his edge. It is true that he and his colleagues have not yet reached the ultimate goal (to link linguistic groupings to genetic patterns to archaeological remains) but gee are they close! Some of this book is quite heavy-going, but the underlying potential here for knowing who our most distant ancestors were is extraordinary (even a little scary).
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
