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Race and Human Evolution: A Fatal Attraction 2nd Edition

3.5 out of 5 stars 9 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0813339993
ISBN-10: 0813339995
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 500 pages
  • Publisher: Westview Pr (Short Disc); 2nd edition (October 3, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0813339995
  • ISBN-13: 978-0813339993
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

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By W. Wofford on November 8, 2004
Format: Hardcover
This book accurately portrays the skeletal evidence for human origins, in the context of the Multi-regional theory of human evolution. In this respect it's typical Wolpoff & his usual high standard of excellence, "nuff said. What REALLY needs commentary is the major misconception several reviewer have posted. DNA data has NOT "blown skeletal studies out of the water". We now know that mtDNA AND Y-chromosome lineages ARE HIGHLY subject to natural selection, which means that selective processes CAN (& WILL) cause "lineage replacement" in populations. The multi-regional theory REQUIRES geneflow between regional populations, and even miniscule levels of geneflow will introduce "new" lineages, that can replace the earlier lineages in that population. Selective advantages of as little as hundredths of a percent, and "once in a century" geneflow between adjacent populations, WILL result in total worldwide replacement of lineages within a 100,000-150,000 year period WITHOUT significantly affecting the rest of the genepool. So yes, lineage studies DO "show" that we all share common mtDNA & Y-chromosome ancestors within the last 50-250,000 years (depending on which mutation rate estimate is used), but this actually FITS the predictions of the multi-regional model (for that matter, some mutation rate estimates give calculations that ALLOW descent from regional Homo erectus populations). And.... autosomal DNA studies REVEAL ancient regional population structuring for most genes that goes back as much as a million years, but more recent structuring for other genes, which is ALSO exactly what you'd expect under multi-regionalism's "geneflow & spread of advantageous genes" expectation.... but NOT what would be expected of a human population that recently spread out of Africa.Read more ›
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Format: Hardcover
To begin with, there is a lot of trash out there posing as explanations of human evolution. Wolpoff and Caspari's book is NOT one of these. The authors take pains to explain what multiregional evolution is NOT, namely, the multiple origin of humanity. Like just about everyone else, they contend that humans originated in Africa. However, they build a persuasive case that (a) there is no such species as Homo erectus, and (b) that the earliest Homo sapiens left Africa some two million years ago. Whether or not one agrees with this scenario, it makes interesting and informative reading, and I believe is a must for anyone interested in the evolution of humanity, for it provides an alternative to the now-popular view that "modern" humans, whatever that may mean, originated late, in Africa and "replaced" everyone else.à
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Format: Hardcover
The debate between multiregional evolution vs. the replacement model continues unabated, and naturally, not without certain biases muddling the understanding of the interested lay-reader. Wolpoff and Caspari do an excellent job of presenting the historical foundations for the intellectual biases AND the over-simplified misunderstandings of multiregional evolution perpetuated by the popular media which are responsible for the ongoing confusion regarding this debate. Human evolution is NOT a simple matter easily reduced to one or two easy-to-manage ideas. The replacement model is well addressed in the text and is shown to be easier to comprehend than the multiregional model, which explains the media's favoratism for the former. The technical information provided favoring both views is carefully presented and explained, and the reader is left with the task of making up his/her own mind. An approach of which I approve. Balancing this text with those of Dr. C. Stringer and Prof. Rushton (another review on this site) is recommended for even treatment. Were I teaching a course in paleoanthroplogy, I would certainly make Wolpoff & Caspari's book required reading.
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Format: Hardcover
Like many people, I suppose, I am fascinated by the story of Human origins, the spread of people across the globe, the rise and fall of social cultures -- essentially, "our story." So I was in Monterey, California, looking in a very fine used book store for a work on paleoanthropology when I happened to spot "Race and Human Evolution" on a shelf. It was a good find. The book is just crammed with fascinating reading.

First, Wolpoff and Caspari (they are married to each other, despite the difference in surname) reviewed the development of theories of Human evolution from its inception to the time the book was written (published in 1997). Emphasis is placed on how a Eurocentric attitude on the part of many early anthropologists and biologists influenced the interpretations of the Human fossils that were beginning to turn up, and the theories on Human evolution which were proposed by them (the familiar "Human family tree" ideas). They examine these early developments in the context of the racism which was then quite prevalent among these early scholars, and quite clearly demonstrate how those attitudes influenced early work in the area. The review of the development of paleoanthropology and its leading proponents alone makes this text well worth reading.

Wolpoff and Caspari represent a school of paleoanthropology generally termed "multiregionalist." This school posits that, although the Human family first arose in Africa and dispersed across the globe from there, the evolutionary development of modern Humans did not take place exclusively on that continent.
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