Monkeys, Bones and Genes
12 hrs. 59 min.
Language
Russian
Author
Alexander Markov
Author
Alexander Markov
Narrator
Gennady Smirnov
Narrator
Gennady Smirnov
What does it mean to be human? When and why did we become human?
In what ways are we better than our neighbors on the planet, and in what ways do we fall short?
Why don’t we grow up for so long?
In his new audiobook “The Evolution of Man,” Alexander Markov touches on a wide range of topics—from periodization of the settlement of the first people to the genetic foundations of political and religious beliefs. The author raises many questions and searches for answers, drawing on extensive material from the latest research in anthropology, genetics, and evolutionary psychology. Who are we? How do we differ from our neighbors on the planet—including our closest relatives, the great apes? And how can we best use our main difference and advantage—a huge, complexly organized brain?
In what ways are we better than our neighbors on the planet, and in what ways do we fall short?
Why don’t we grow up for so long?
In his new audiobook “The Evolution of Man,” Alexander Markov touches on a wide range of topics—from periodization of the settlement of the first people to the genetic foundations of political and religious beliefs. The author raises many questions and searches for answers, drawing on extensive material from the latest research in anthropology, genetics, and evolutionary psychology. Who are we? How do we differ from our neighbors on the planet—including our closest relatives, the great apes? And how can we best use our main difference and advantage—a huge, complexly organized brain?
Content:
Preface
An exemplary view of animals
Who exactly are we?
Why not all apes became humans?
Are we sure?
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Bipedal apes
The chimpanzee sets the baseline
Up and walking
Ardi bears witness: human ancestors were not like chimpanzees
Family relationships—the key to understanding our evolution
Back to childhood?
Australopithecines
Paranthropus
Chapter 2. Humanization
The ape takes a stone knife
Australopithecus sediba—a human-like australopithecine
The brain begins to grow. Why?
Did saber-toothed cats help the emergence of humans?[31]
Erectus
Homo erectus had a gait like Homo sapiens[32]
A few words on the influence of climate
Conquering Eurasia
“Little hobbits” from the island of Flores
Chapter 3. From erectus to sapiens
Erectus masters the world
The first Europeans
Life around the hearth[38]
“Anatomically modern humans”
Mitochondrial Eve and the Y-chromosome Adam in African Eden
Three perforated shells and the beginning of truly human culture
More and more perforated shells, but only for a short time
Chapter 4. Us and our genes
Protein changes[43]
Changes in gene activity
New genes?
Genes we lost
Chapter 5. Other humanity
Cannibals
Conquerors of Central Asia
Redheads
Infants
And yet their brains grew differently
Neanderthal genome[53]
People from Denisova Cave
Chapter 6. The great dispersal of sapiens
First steps
The discovery of Australia
Conquering Europe
The demographic factor
Venus and the flute
Back to Africa
The discovery of America
Chapter 7. The origin of man and sexual selection
Darwin’s brilliant, yet misunderstood idea
Why do males have mustaches
Why do primate females scream during sex?
Humor and generosity—results of sexual selection?
When men see beautiful girls, they start saying intelligent words
Evolutionary aesthetics
Beauty, symmetry, and superstimuli
A sense of the beautiful: a dangerous illusion or Ariadne’s thread?
Reference tables
An exemplary view of animals
Who exactly are we?
Why not all apes became humans?
Are we sure?
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Bipedal apes
The chimpanzee sets the baseline
Up and walking
Ardi bears witness: human ancestors were not like chimpanzees
Family relationships—the key to understanding our evolution
Back to childhood?
Australopithecines
Paranthropus
Chapter 2. Humanization
The ape takes a stone knife
Australopithecus sediba—a human-like australopithecine
The brain begins to grow. Why?
Did saber-toothed cats help the emergence of humans?[31]
Erectus
Homo erectus had a gait like Homo sapiens[32]
A few words on the influence of climate
Conquering Eurasia
“Little hobbits” from the island of Flores
Chapter 3. From erectus to sapiens
Erectus masters the world
The first Europeans
Life around the hearth[38]
“Anatomically modern humans”
Mitochondrial Eve and the Y-chromosome Adam in African Eden
Three perforated shells and the beginning of truly human culture
More and more perforated shells, but only for a short time
Chapter 4. Us and our genes
Protein changes[43]
Changes in gene activity
New genes?
Genes we lost
Chapter 5. Other humanity
Cannibals
Conquerors of Central Asia
Redheads
Infants
And yet their brains grew differently
Neanderthal genome[53]
People from Denisova Cave
Chapter 6. The great dispersal of sapiens
First steps
The discovery of Australia
Conquering Europe
The demographic factor
Venus and the flute
Back to Africa
The discovery of America
Chapter 7. The origin of man and sexual selection
Darwin’s brilliant, yet misunderstood idea
Why do males have mustaches
Why do primate females scream during sex?
Humor and generosity—results of sexual selection?
When men see beautiful girls, they start saying intelligent words
Evolutionary aesthetics
Beauty, symmetry, and superstimuli
A sense of the beautiful: a dangerous illusion or Ariadne’s thread?
Reference tables
