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Full Description
This is the first volume to address directly the question of the speciation of modern Homo sapiens. The subject raises profound questions about the nature of the species, our defining characteristic (it is suggested it is language), and the brain changes and their genetic basis that make us distinct. The British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences have brought together experts from palaeontology, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, genetics and evolutionary theory to present evidence and theories at the cutting edge of our understanding of these issues. Palaeontological and genetic work suggests that the transition from a precursor hominid species to modern man took place between 100,000 and 150,000 years ago. Some contributors discuss what is most characteristic of the species, focussing on language and its possible basis in brain lateralization. This work is placed in the context of speciation theory, which has remained a subject of considerable debate since the evolutionary synthesis of Mendelian genetics and Darwinian theory. The timing of specific transitions in hominid evolution is discussed, as also is the question of the neural basis of language.
Other contributors address the possible genetic nature of the transition, with reference to changes on the X and Y chromosomes that may account for sex differences in lateralization and verbal ability. These differences are discussed in terms of the theory of sexual selection, and with reference to the mechanisms of speciation. These essays will be vital reading for anyone interested in the nature and origins of the species, and specifically human abilities.
Contents
THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES; The Out-of-Africa Hypothesis of Modern Human Origins; The Earliest Evidence of Cognitive Ability; The Case for Saltational Events in Human Evolution; LANGUAGE AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE BRAIN; From Proto-language to Language; The Lop-sided Ape; The Implications of Language for Evolutionary Theory; SEARCH FOR A CRITICAL EVENT; Sexual Selection, Timing, and the X-Y Hypothesis of Cerebral Asymmetry; What the Y chromosome can tell us about the origins of modern humans; Homo Sapiens: Specific Chromosomal Re-arrangements and X-Y Homologous Genes; LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN; The Grade Concept and Transitions in Hominid Evolution; When did Directional Asymmetry enter the Record?; Did Language need a Speciation Event?; Why lLanguage needs both Hemispheres; Does the Neural Basis of Vocalization Differ in Primates and Homo Sapiens?; GENETIC ASPECTS; Is the Laterality Locus on the X (and Y?) Chromosome?; The Structure of the Xq21.3/YP Homologous Region in Primates and Homo Sapiens; The Structure of the ProtocadherinXY Gene; Is ProtocadherinXY under Positive Selective Pressure?; EVOLUTIONARY THEORY; Preferential Sexual Linkage of Sexually Selected Genes: Evidence and Explanations
