From Publishers Weekly
Prehistoric humans, in Oxford zoologist Kingdon's view, were preoccupied with making, fine-tuning and applying tools. In his ambitous scenario, the quest for new technologies, rather than pure Darwinian selection, played a key role in human evolution. By speculatively mapping the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa across the continents, Kingdon fleshes out the currently fashionable "Noah's Ark model" of evolution, which is rejected by those paleoanthropologists who support a multiple-origins model. This provocative and lively saga of human origins also contends that the four or five classic "races" share a highly mixed genetic past, with Africans being "genetically the most diverse people on earth." Europeans, by Kingdon's reckoning, are mostly recent migrants out of Africa and the Middle East, while the Japanese are a mix of Koreans and Ainu. Kingdon calls today's environmental movement "a major turning point in human history," as society seeks to put limits on technology's dangerous side effects. Illustrated.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
From Library Journal
Kingdon is an Oxford University zoologist and artist whose important works include East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa (Academic Pr., 1971). His newest book is an attempt to map out the geography and ecology of prehuman and human populations, beginning with the radiation of Homo erectus from Africa, continuing with a second wave of African migration--this time by modern humans--and ending with the differentiation of the races as populations adapted to local environments. Kingdon's arguments about the primacy of technology in food gathering and transportation can be hard to follow as he careens across ages and continents. Also frustrating is a lack of footnotes that would allow one to examine the evidence that led to his bold assertions. Still, this is a significant contribution to the current debate over the birthplace of Homo sapiens and the origin of the races. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
- Eric Hinsdale, Trinity Univ. Lib., San Antonio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
- Eric Hinsdale, Trinity Univ. Lib., San Antonio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
