Race And Human Evolution: A Fatal Attraction - Softcover

Milford Wolpoff; Rachel Caspari

3.64

33 ratings by Goodreads

9780813335469: Race And Human Evolution: A Fatal Attraction

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813335469 ISBN 13: 9780813335469

Publisher: Westview Press, 1998

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Where do humans come from? How did they evolve? How did different races come into existence? The quest for modern human origins has both fascinated and divided people for centuries. Theories of race and questions of whether humans can be categorized in different species have caused polarization and discord in the sciences throughout history, and theories currently in vogue may have as much to do with contemporary cultural politics as with science. Race and Human Evolution is a far-ranging account by leading researchers in the field that describes the latest scientific evidence and the conflicting theories about human evolution. Milford Wolpoff and Rachel Caspari describe the Eve” or Out-of-Africa” theory, which holds that all living people are the descendants of a single common ancestor ( Eve”) who began a new species of humanity in Africa some 200,000 years ago and whose progeny spread throughout the world, giving rise to the different human races. The authors show that the evidence of the fossil record and genetic data support Multiregionalism,” which posits that for some two million years human populations have been entwined in a network of widespread peoples who evolved together because they met and interbred, giving the races today many ancestors, not a single common one. Race and Human Evolution shows how the debate over the Eve” theory reflects a long history of theories about human origins and race that has been fraught with social and political implications. Race and human evolution have become tangled during some of the most important eras in our history: European colonizations, which sparked questions over the humanity of indigenous natives, and the slavery issue and whether Jefferson's claims of humanity and quality for all people applied to slaves. While Darwinism, the discovery of Neanderthals, and Mendel's genetic theories combined to give us modern paleoanthropology, the eugenics movement and even Nazism also sprang from these ideas.The debate now raging cannot free itself of this background. Certain to be controversial but also to illuminate an argument that has persisted for centuries and which persists in some of today's most inflammatory social and political issues, Race and Human Evolution provides an authoritative account of the science and the scientists behind the controversy over the origin of humanity and its racial differences.

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Review:

There are two widely held scientific theories concerning the origin of the human species. One posits a single cradle, generally thought to be in Africa, in which Homo sapiens originated. This dominant theory is assisted by its charismatic spokesmodel Eve, a fictitious personification of a DNA strain that some scientists argue indicates a unique source for the Earth's human population. The other, decidedly less popular theory is known as multiregionalism. Multiregionalists argue that populations may have originated in Africa, but these populations migrated to distant regions where the human species developed and took on different characteristics, known to scientists as biological diversity but more conventionally referred to as different races. This divide is obviously controversial, and it is not always the steady eye of science that influences which model is deemed correct (or at least politically correct). After all, one model promises a scientific verification of our common humanity, the other, interpreted too loosely, could result in a scientific rationale that hardens concepts of racial difference.

Anthropological researchers (and husband and wife) Milford Wolpoff and Rachel Caspari have written Race and Human Evolution as an accessible introduction to the debates over the origins of the human species that makes a careful and detailed case for multiregionalism. Much of the authors' effort is directed at separating their scientifically sound position from the racist legacy of earlier theories of polygenism, which argued that races were genetically isolated. They also mount compelling arguments that the "single source of humanity" camp has succeeded thanks to good marketing rather than hard or conclusive data. Their book proves not only an interesting introduction to anthropological debates, it also reflects the way a scientific thesis is formulated, developed, and defended in the media-savvy late 20th century.

From the Back Cover:

Race and Human Evolution is a far-ranging account by leading researchers in the field that describes the latest scientific evidence and the conflicting theories about human evolution. Milford Wolpoff and Rachel Caspari describe the "Eve" or "Out-of-Africa" theory, which holds that all living people are the descendants of a single common ancestor ("Eve") who began a new species of humanity in Africa some 200,000 years ago and whose progeny spread throughout the world, giving rise to the different human races. The authors show that the evidence of the fossil record and genetic data support "Multiregionalism", which posits that for some two million years human populations have been entwined in a network of widespread peoples who evolved together because they met and interbred, giving the races today many ancestors, not a single common one. Race and Human Evolution shows how the debate over the "Eve" theory reflects a long history of theories about human origins and race that has been fraught with social and political implications. The debate now raging cannot free itself of this background. Certain to be controversial but also to illuminate an argument that has persisted for centuries and which persists in some of today's most inflammatory social and political issues, Race and Human Evolution provides an authoritative account of the science and the scientists behind the controversy over the origin of humanity and its racial differences.

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