Just 28,000 years ago, the blink of an eye in geological time, the last of Neanderthals died out in their last outpost, in caves near Gibraltar. Thanks to cartoons and folk accounts we have a distorted view of these other humans - for that is what they were. We think of them as crude and clumsy and not very bright, easily driven to extinction by the lithe, smart modern humans that came out of Africa some 100,000 years ago.But was it really as simple as that? Clive Finlayson reminds us that...

Since the late 1980s the dominant theory of human origins has been that a 'cognitive revolution' (C.50,000 years ago) led to the advent of our species, Homo sapiens. As a result of this revolution our species spread and eventually replaced all existing archaic Homo species, ultimately leading to the superiority of modern humans. Or so we thought. As Clive Finlayson explains, the latest advances in genetics prove that there was significant interbreeding between Modern Huma...

Taking an ecological approach to our evolution, Clive Finlayson considers the origins of modern humans within the context of a drying climate and changing landscapes. Finlayson argues that environmental change, particularly availability of water, played a critical role in shaping the direction of human evolution, contributing to our spread and success. He argues that our ancestors carved a niche for themselves by leaving the forest and forcing their way into a long-established community of...

Since the late 1980s the dominant theory of human origins has been that a "cognitive revolution" (c. 50,000 years ago) led to the advent of our species, Homo sapiens. As a result of this revolution our species spread and eventually replaced all existing archaic Homo species, ultimately leading to the superiority of modern humans. Or so we thought.As Clive Finlayson explains, the latest advances in genetics prove that there was significant interbreeding between Mod...

Clive Finlayson, a native of the Rock and a trained ornithologist, presents a fascinating account of this region and its resident and transitory bird life.The Strait of Gibraltar is famous as a major point of passage for Palaearctic birds migrating between their European breeding grounds and their winter quarters in Africa. The first chapter of the book describes the area, which broadly defined includes the Coto Donana in the north and the Merja Zerga in the south,...

Using a fresh approach that classifies birds according to their bioclimatic characteristics, Clive Finlayson views the history and distribution of Palearctic birds from a radical new angle.History and chance events play a central role in a story that has its origins before the asteroid impact that finished off the dinosaurs. In this book, Finlayson shows that the avifauna of the Palearctic long predates the glaciations of the last two million years, and had establi...

Gibraltar, located at the meeting points of Europe and Africa, preserves within its fortifications a rich testament to human conflict spanning 600 years.In 1068 the ruling Spanish Muslims built a large fort there. Between 1309 and 1374 Gibraltar underwent a period of intensive building and fortification, and following the Spanish reconquest of 1462 the inhabitants carried out further works. In 1704 the latest, uninterrupted period of British rule began.The ...

Gibraltar, located at the meeting points of Europe and Africa, preserves within its fortifications a rich testament to human conflict spanning 600 years.In 1068 the ruling Spanish Muslims built a large fort there. Between 1309 and 1374 Gibraltar underwent a period of intensive building and fortification, and following the Spanish reconquest of 1462 the inhabitants carried out further works. In 1704 the latest, uninterrupted period of British rule began.The ...

Brought to you by Penguin.50,000 years ago, we were not the only species of human in the world. There were at least four others, including the Neanderthals, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonesis and the Denisovans. At the forefront of the latter's ground-breaking discovery was Oxford Professor Tom Higham. In The World Before Us, he explains the scientific and technological advancements - in radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA,...

Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that.Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their ens...

It was the Vikings, not Christopher Columbus, who made the first European discovery of America. It was the Vikings, not the Pilgrim Fathers, who were the first Europeans settlers in America, and it was probably the Vikings who first used the name America.Around a thousand years ago the Vikings crossed the North Atlantic and established their settlements on the American continent. Yet today both Europe and North America treat the Vikings in North America as if it were no more than a...

Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.Scientists have long believed that the "great leap forward" that occurred some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago in Europe marked end of significant biological evolution in humans. In this stunningly original account of our evolutionary history, top scholars Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending reject this conventional wis...