New Look at Human Evolution

New Look at Human Evolution (May 2003)
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Reading the cracked brown fragments of fossils and sequences of DNA, scientists have found clues that the story of human origins has more convolutions than previously thought. The account of our shared human heritage now includes more controversial plot twists and mysteries. Was the remarkable seven-million-year-old skull found in July 2002 in Chad really one of our first forebears, or a distant dead-end cousin with precociously evolved features? Did modern humans really originate in Africa alone, as is widely held, or in multiple locales? Were Neandertals the crude, brutish cavemen of comic strips or did they have a refined, artistic culture? And of course, why didn't our kind perish with the rest of the hominids? Were we luckier, more lingual or just more lethal than the rest?

Explore the latest developments in the field of human evolution in this special edition from Scientific American--and learn more about that fascinating first chapter in everybody's family history.--The Editors

Cover; New Look at Human Evolution; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Letter from the Editor; New Look at Human Evolution; by John Rennie; 1 Page(s)

The Original Human Interest Story

Table of Contents; New Look at Human Evolution; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

An Ancestor to Call Our Own; New Look at Human Evolution; by Kate Wong; 10 Page(s)

Controversial new fossils could bring scientists closer than ever to the origin of humanity

Early Hominid Fossils from Africa; New Look at Human Evolution; by Meave Leakey and Alan Walker; 6 Page(s)

A new species of Australopithecus, the ancestor of Homo, pushes back the origins of bipedalism to some four million years ago

Once We Were Not Alone; New Look at Human Evolution; by Ian Tattersall; 8 Page(s)

Today we take for granted that Homo sapiens is the only hominid on earth. Yet for at least four million years many hominid species shared the planet. What makes us different?

Who Were the Neandertals?; New Look at Human Evolution; by Kate Wong; contributions by E. Trinkaus and C. Duarte; J. Zilh¿o and F. d'Errico; and F. H. Smith; 10 Page(s)

Controversial evidence indicates that these hominids interbred with anatomically modern humans and sometimes behaved in surprisingly modern ways

Out of Africa Again...and Again?; New Look at Human Evolution; by Ian Tattersall; 8 Page(s)

Africa is the birthplace of humanity. But how many human species evolved there? And when did they emigrate?

The Multiregional Evolution of Humans; New Look at Human Evolution; by Alan G. Thorne and Milford H. Wolpoff; 8 Page(s)

Both fossil and genetic evidence argues that ancient ancestors of various human groups lived where they are found today

The Recent African Genesis of Humans; New Look at Human Evolution; by Rebecca L. Cann and Allan C. Wilson; 8 Page(s)

Genetic studies reveal that an African woman from less than 200,000 years ago was our common ancestor

Food for Thought; New Look at Human Evolution; by William R. Leonard; 10 Page(s)

Dietary change was a driving force in human evolution

Skin Deep; New Look at Human Evolution; by Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin; 8 Page(s)

Throughout the world, human skin color has evolved to be dark enough to prevent sunlight from destroying the nutrient folate but light enough to foster the production of vitamin D

The Evolution of Human Birth; New Look at Human Evolution; by Karen R. Rosenberg and Wenda R. Trevathan; 6 Page(s)

The difficulties of childbirth have probably challenged humans and their ancestors for millions of years - which means that the modern custom of seeking assistance during delivery may have similarly ancient roots

Once Were Cannibals; New Look at Human Evolution; by Tim D. White; 8 Page(s)

Clear evidence of cannibalism in the human fossil record has been rare, but it is now becoming apparent that the practice is deeply rooted in our history

If Humans Were Built to Last; New Look at Human Evolution; by S. Jay Olshansky, Bruce A. Carnes and Robert N. Butler; 7 Page(s)

We would look a lot different if evolution had designed the human body to function smoothly for a century or more