Reflections of Our Past

by Relethford, John H.

• ISBN13: 9780813339580
• ISBN10: 0813339588
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Where did modern humans come from and how important are the biological differences among us? Are we descended from Neanderthals? How many races of people are there? Were Native Americans the first settlers of the New World? How can we tell if Thomas Jefferson had a child with Sally Hemings? Through an engaging examination of issues such as these, and using non-technical language,Reflections of Our Pastshows how anthropologists use genetic information to test theories and define possible answers to fundamental questions in human history. By looking at genetic variation in the world today, we can reconstruct the recent and remote events and processes that created the variation we see, providing a fascinating reflection of our genetic past.Reflections of Our Pastis a W. W. Howells Book Prize Winner andChoiceOutstanding Academic Title.

Author Biography

John H. Relethford is Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Anthropology, SUNY College at Oneonta, where he has received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. His research interests include genetics and human history, human biological variation, and the origins of modern humans. He is currently President Elect of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Reflections of Our Past is a W. W. Howells Book Prize Winner and Choice Outstanding Academic Title. John Relethford lives in Oneonta, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface: A Time Machine	ix
The History in Our Genes	1	(14)
In Search of History	2	(6)
Genetics and Human History	8	(7)
The Naked Ape	15	(28)
Our Place in Nature	17	(3)
Who Is Our Closest Living Relative?	20	(2)
Genetic Comparisons of Apes and Humans	22	(8)
Dating the Split	30	(6)
What Is the Real Family Tree?	36	(2)
Hominids or Hominins?	38	(5)
Do You Know Where Your Ancestors Are?	43	(32)
A Quick Summary of Human Evolution	44	(2)
How Many Species?	46	(4)
The Origin of Modern Humans	50	(4)
The Fossil Record	54	(3)
``Mitochondrial Eve''	57	(6)
Gene Trees and Human Ancestry	63	(2)
Patterns of Human Genetic Diversity	65	(1)
Population Size, Genetic Drift, and Human Evolution	66	(4)
How Many Ancestors?	70	(2)
Mostly Out of Africa?	72	(3)
The Fate of the Neandertals	75	(26)
The Fossil Record of Neandertals	78	(2)
The Discovery of Neandertal DNA	80	(4)
More Neandertal DNA	84	(1)
Neandertals: Different Species or Different Subspecies?	84	(3)
Where Did All the Neandertal Sequences Go?	87	(4)
European Affinities of Neandertal DNA	91	(4)
Where Did They Go?	95	(6)
The Palimpsest of the Past	101	(22)
Measuring Human Genetic Diversity	103	(7)
Global Genetic Diversity and Isolation by Distance	110	(9)
Genetic Diversity Between Populations and Individuals	119	(3)
The Palimpsest Revisited	122	(1)
The First Americans	123	(22)
Where Did the First Americans Come From?	124	(3)
The Genetic Link Between Asia and North America	127	(7)
How Many Migrations?	134	(3)
When Was the New World First Inhabited?	137	(2)
Kennewick Man	139	(3)
Past and Present	142	(3)
Prehistoric Europe: The Spread of Farming or the Spread of Farmers?	145	(22)
Origins of Agriculture	147	(1)
The Origin of Agriculture in Europe	148	(1)
Cultural Diffusion Versus Demic Diffusion	149	(4)
Genetic Evidence for Demic Diffusion	153	(4)
The Genetic Contribution from Neolithic Farmers	157	(2)
What Else Was Happening in Europe?	159	(5)
Peeling Away the Layers	164	(3)
Voyagers of the Pacific	167	(20)
Where Did the Polynesians Come From?	168	(4)
Genetic Distances and Polynesia	172	(2)
What Does Mitochondrial DNA Tell Us?	174	(4)
The Evidence from Y Chromosomes	178	(1)
Where in Asia?	179	(2)
Consensus?	181	(2)
A Thought about Expansions	183	(4)
Three Tales from Ireland	187	(20)
The Origin of the Irish Travellers	192	(2)
English Gene Flow in the Aran Islands	194	(7)
Invasions, Settlements, and Irish History	201	(6)
Admixture, History, and Cultural Identity	207	(28)
The Genetics of Admixture	208	(3)
Admixture in Mexicans and Mexican Americans	211	(3)
Admixture in African Americans	214	(5)
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings	219	(4)
Genetic Admixture and the Jewish Diaspora	223	(7)
Genetic Ancestry and Cultural Identity	230	(5)
Notes	235	(4)
References	239	(10)
Index	249