Contains a number of references to Java Man discovered outside of Solo. A leading anthropology researcher on human evolution proposes a new and controversial theory of how our species came to be In this groundbreaking and engaging work of science, world-renowned paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer sets out a new theory of humanity's origin, challenging both the multiregionalists (who hold that modern humans developed from ancient ancestors in different parts of the world) and his own "out of Africa" theory, which maintains that humans emerged rapidly in one small part of Africa and then spread to replace all other humans within and outside the continent. Stringer's new theory, based on archeological and genetic evidence, holds that distinct humans coexisted and competed across the African continent-exchanging genes, tools, and behavioral strategies.

Stringer draws on analyses of old and new fossils from around the world, DNA studies of Neanderthals (using the full genome map) and other species, and recent archeological digs to unveil his new theory. He shows how the most sensational recent fossil findings fit with his model, and he questions previous concepts (including his own) of modernity and how it evolved.

Lone Survivors is the definitive account of who and what we were, and will change perceptions about our origins and about what it means to be human.

Low 4/high 3.

In contrast to Brian Fagan's [b:Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations|2308972|Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations|Brian M. Fagan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1198113610s/2308972.jpg|2315387] this is considerably more focused. It's also a more recent creation and, in the rapidly advancing field of human evolution and archaeology, this is critical.

My one big complaint about this is that it's not very well organized. Stringer seems unable to keep focused, instead he constantly make references to things he'll cover in other chapters. This is NOT an issue with the subject matter, as Jared Diamond avoided this problem handsomely in his excellent (but slightly dated now) [b:The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution & Future of the Human Animal|49234|The Third Chimpanzee The Evolution & Future of the Human Animal|Jared Diamond|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406094926s/49234.jpg|1677648].

In general, the technical level is on the high side, so I wouldn't recommend this to someone just getting into the subject. But, if you have some familiarity with the field and can tolerate the poor organization, it's worth a read.
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Filled in a few holes in my out of Africa origin paradigm. He did a good job of explaining various dating techniques and the complexities of ROA. ( )

This was terrific!
A little difficult to follow and understand in parts (that just might be it being new to me) but otherwise a very interesting read.
Has a pretty good flow and I wasn't constantly looking up words.
I will definitely be following up on this subject thanks to this introduction. ( )

This book jumps around a lot and doesn't really have follow a coherent path. Paragraphs don't follow on from one paragraph to another, never mind chapters. The book is also rather limited in that it discusses modern people and neanderthals in rather vague terms. The book wasn't overly technical but it presented information in such a vague and disassociated manner that it made things rather confusing. Too much speculation, not enough facts.

I got the impression that the author's pet theory was the out of Africa hypothesis and he was going to cherry pick data to suit his theory. The author continually bashes the multi-regional hypothesis without actually providing any detailed information on this (or any of the other) hypotheses or providing information on why he considers it wrong. Even if the one hypothesis is completely wrong, I would still like to know more details about it and why it is considered inaccurate.

I may have missed something with all the jumping around, but I still have no idea "how we came to be the only humans on earth".




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