Sudden Origins: Fossils, Genes, and the Emergence of Species

by Jeffrey H. Schwartz

• ISBN13: 9780471379126
• ISBN10: 0471379123
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Fascinating."-Nature Finally a compelling answer to the question that has plagued scientists for centuries . . . "A detailed and informative historical account."-Nature "This is an intriguing and significant work."-Library Journal "A provocative new theory to explain how species arise."-Scientific American "A worthwhile attempt at bridging the new developments in how species may change and the evidence for the patterns of those changes."-American Scientist Darwin may have argued that new species emerge through a slow, gradual accumulation of tiny mutations, but the fossil record reveals a very different scenario-the sudden emergence of whole new species, with no apparent immediate ancestors. In this provocative and timely book, Jeffrey Schwartz presents a groundbreaking and radical new theory that explains exactly how evolution works. Turning to the marvels of genetics, paleontology, embryology, and anatomy, and introducing the recent discovery of an extraordinary type of gene, known as homeobox genes, Schwartz provides an evocative answer to the long-standing question: How do species emerge? Writing with the expert knowledge only an insider can bring, Schwartz tells the intriguing history of the study of evolution, from the initial breakthrough discoveries to the famous Piltdown controversy up through the genetics revolution. Sudden Origins is a monumental book that ties together all the threads of evolutionary theory while providing a compelling answer to one of life's most enduring conundrums. This book is crucial reading for anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of our evolutionary heritage.

Author Biography

JEFFREY H. SCHWARTZ, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the critically acclaimed The Red Ape and What the Bones Tell Us. He is also the coauthor, with Ian Tattersall, of the forthcoming landmark three-volume work, The Human Fossil Record.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(13)
A Rash of Discoveries	14	(32)
How Humans Distinguished Themselves from the Rest of the Animal World	46	(25)
Coming to Grips with the Past	71	(29)
Filling in the Gaps of Human Evolution	100	(26)
Humans as Embryos	126	(36)
Development, Inheritance, and Evolutionary Change	162	(25)
Genetics and the Demise of Darwinism	187	(30)
Rediscovering Darwin	217	(26)
Genetics Goes Statistical	243	(33)
The Origin of Species Revisited	276	(34)
Toward a New Evolution	310	(39)
The New Evolution	349	(31)
References and Notes	380	(25)
Glossary	405	(4)
Index	409