The Evolution of Modern Human Diversity: A Study on Cranial Variation
Exactly how modern humans evolved is a subject of intense debate. This book deals with the evolution of modern humans from an archaic ancestor and the differentiation of modern populations from each other. The first section of the book investigates whether modern populations arose from regional archaic hominid groups that were already different from each other, and argues that in fact, most lines of evidence support a single, recent origin of modern humans in Africa. Dr. Lahr then goes on to examine ways in which this diversification could have occurred, given what we know from fossils, archaeological remains and the relationships of existing populations today.1. Introduction -- 2. The modern human origins debate -- 3. The morphological basis of the Multiregional Model -- 4. The regional expression of the East Asian and Australian 'continuity traits' -- 5. Temporal distribution of the 'regional continuity traits' in late Pleistocene hominids -- 6. The independence of expression of the 'regional continuity traits' -- 7. Multiregional evolution as the source of recent regional cranial diversity: A review -- 8. Cranial variation in Homo sapiens -- 9. Morphological differentiation from a single ancestral source -- 10. Geographical differentiation from a single ancestral source -- 11. Reconstructing population histories -- 12. Final conclusions.
