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The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking pp 3–23Cite as

Genetics and the human lineage

Can genetics throw some light on the evolution of the human lineage?

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Part of the book series: Logic, Epistemology, and The Unity of Science ((LEUS,volume 6))

Abstract

Genetics has greatly contributed to current knowledge about the evolution of the human lineage. Immunological techniques and the molecular clock have addressed the time divergence of human and chimpanzee lineages, disproving the late divergence model. The much-debated question about the origin of anatomically modern humans has been greatly by investigations of mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome DNA, and other genetic polymorphisms, all of which have also shed light on the size of human populations through hominid history. The persistent controversy concerning the relationship between Neanderthal and modern human populations has recently been constrained by the analysis of mitochondrial DNA fossil Neanderthals and early modern humans. Finally, recent genetic discoveries have contributed to unravelling the phylogenetic history of distinctive human traits, such as language and the masticatory apparatus

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, USA

    Francisco José Ayala

  2. Laboratory of Human Systematics, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Miguel Ángel Capó, Camilo José Cela-Conde & Marcos Nadal

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  1. Francisco José Ayala
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  2. Miguel Ángel Capó
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  4. Marcos Nadal
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Collége de France, Paris, France

    Anne Fagot-Largeault

  2. Université de Lille, Paris, France

    Shahid Rahman

  3. Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

    Juan Manuel Torres

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Ayala, F.J., Capó, M.Á., Cela-Conde, C.J., Nadal, M. (2007). Genetics and the human lineage. In: Fagot-Largeault, A., Rahman, S., Torres, J.M. (eds) The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking. Logic, Epistemology, and The Unity of Science, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5664-2_1

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