The Chosen Species answers these and many other questions about our origins.
Authors Juan Luis Arsuaga and Ignacio Martínez are world–renowned paleoanthropologists and co–directors of the excavations at Atapuerca–––a World Heritage Site and Europe s oldest known burial site–––where their team discovered a new human species, homo antecessor. Their work has changed the way we see human evolution. Here, the authors draw on their rich experience to provide a fascinating account of our origins. They reconstruct the sequence of events, give an account of how, when, and why man evolved, and draw conclusions based on verifiable facts and well–founded argument. The Chosen Species combines scientific rigor with a spellbinding style that will grip readers as they follow the tale to its end.
Introduction: Prehistory.
Little Lucy.
Intrepid Paleontologists..
Part I: Children of Africa.
1. Basic Principles of Evolutionary Theory.
2. We the Primates.
3. Climate and Evolution.
4. The Origin of Humanity.
5. The Bipedal Chimpanzee.
6. Paranthropus – Hominids of the Open Plains.
7. A New Kind of Hominid.
8. The Evolution of the Brain.
9. Teeth, Guts, Hands, Brain.
10. Development.
11. Social Intelligence.
Summary..
Part II: A New Home.
12. New Locations for Human Evolution.
13. The Neanderthals.
14. The Origins of Modern Humanity: the Fossil Evidence.
15. The Origins of Modern Humanity: The Genetic.
16. The Origins of Human Language.
17. The Meaning of Evolution.
Epilogue.
The Never–ending Story.
Bibliography.
Index.
Ignacio Martínez
