The Evolution of Modern Human Diversity A Study on Cranial Variation

About this book

Exactly how modern humans evolved is a subject of intense debate. This book deals with the evolution of modern humans from an archaic ancestor and the differentiation of modern populations from each other. The first section of the book investigates whether modern populations arose from regional archaic hominid groups that were already different from each other, and argues that in fact, most lines of evidence support a single, recent origin of modern humans in Africa. Dr Lahr then goes on to examine ways in which this diversification could have occurred, given what we know from fossils, archaeological remains and the relationships of existing populations today. This book will be a must for all those interested in human evolution.

Contents

1. Introduction; 2. The modern human origins debate; Part I. Multiregional Evolution as the Source of Human Cranial Diversity: 3. The morphological basis of the multiregional model; 4. The regional expression of the East Asian and Australian continuity traits; 5. Temporal distribution of the 'Regional Continuity Traits' in late Pleistocene hominids; 6. The independence of expression of the 'Regional Continuity Traits'; 7. Multiregional evolution as the source of recent regional cranial diversity; a review; Part II. The Evolution of Modern Human Cranial Diversity from a Single Ancestral Source: 8. Cranial variation in Homo sapiens; 9. Morphological differentiation from a single ancestral source; 10. Geographical differentiation from a single ancestral source; 11. The evolution of modern human cranial diversity; 12. Final conclusions; References; Index.

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