Genes, Culture, and Human Evolution : A Synthesis

by Stone, Linda; Lurquin, Paul F.; Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca

• ISBN13: 9781405131667
• ISBN10: 1405131667
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-23
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Genes, Culture, and Human Evolution: A Synthesisis a textbook on human evolution that offers students a unique combination of cultural anthropology and genetics. Written by two geneticists---including a world-renowned scientist and founder of the Human Genome Diversity Project---and a socio-cultural anthropologist. Based on recent findings in genetics and anthropology that indicate the analysis of human culture and evolution demands an integration of these fields of study. Focuses on evolution---or, rather, co-evolution---viewed from the standpoint of genes and culture, and their inescapable interactions. Unifies cultural and genetic concepts rather than rehashing nonempirical sociobiological musings. Demonstrates that empirical genetic evidence, based on modern DNA analysis and population studies, provides an excellent foundation for understanding human cultural diversity.

Author Biography

Linda Stone is Professor of Anthropology at Washington State University. She has produced over 25 scholarly publications, including 8 books.

Paul F. Lurquin is Professor of Genetics at Washington State University. He is the author and coauthor of over 100 scholarly publications, including 6 books.

L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza is Professor Emeritus of Genetics at Stanford University. His publications comprise over 500 articles and 14 books. He is a member of the United States Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, British Royal Society, French Academy of Sciences, and the Italian Academy of Sciences.

Table of Contents

Figures	vi
Plates	x
Preface	xi
Introduction	xiv
L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza
Genetic and cultural theory: a brief overview	1	(12)
Human descent and paleoanthropology	13	(35)
Foundations of classical and molecular genetics	48	(26)
Genetics as a key to human origins and prehistory	74	(20)
Fundamentals of human evolution: mutation and natural selection	94	(14)
Fundamentals of human evolution: drift, migration, and quantitative analysis of human genetic diversity	108	(21)
Cultural evolution	129	(15)
Geography of human genes and correlation with languages	144	(23)
The prehistory of human genes	167	(15)
Voyages: prehistoric human expansions	182	(15)
The Neolithic transition in Europe and the peopling of the Americas	197	(19)
Genes, kinship, and human identity	216	(19)
Cultural clines, clades, cycles, and waves: the process of cultural evolution	235	(21)
Genes and culture in medicine	256	(19)
General conclusion	275	(3)
Appendix 1 The denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) technique	278	(3)
Appendix 2 The Hardy-Weinberg theorem	281	(3)
Appendix 3 A simulation of drift	284	(3)
Appendix 4 The Diversification of languages	287	(2)
Notes	289	(4)
Key references	293	(5)
Glossary	298	(5)
Index	303