Human Gene History Map

Author: Steve Olson (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Throughout history, the habit of categorizing others has brought humanity considerable suffering. Entire ethnic groups have been slaughtered or enslaved, solely based on their skin color or the shape of their eyes. This book is a work of history, but the history it presents is one inseparable from our daily lives. Most of us identify as either Hispanic or Chinese, white or black—perhaps we have some connection to these classifications. Some believe that a group's aggression, religiosity, and inventive capacity cannot be the result of learned behavior but must be linked to genetic inheritance. However, genetic research tells us this is not the case. The relationships between different ethnic groups are too close; they differ only in superficial ways. Genetic studies also confirm that all humans are interconnected. Whether it's the dominant Han Chinese, the European colonizers who spread across the world, the Jews who are scattered globally, or the Bushmen who hunt antelopes, they are all members of the same human family. This book explores the genetic stories of vast regions of the world, tracing the history of modern humans from their first appearance to the present, and also tracks the origins and diversification of languages, revealing how humans evolved into the different races and ethnicities we see today.