The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction

Shipman, Pat

ISBN 10: 0674736761 / ISBN 13: 9780674736764

Editore: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2015

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction
• Editore: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0674736761
• ISBN 13: 9780674736764
• Rilegatura: Rilegato
• Condizione: good

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

With their large brains, sturdy physique, sophisticated tools, and hunting skills, Neanderthals are the closest known relatives to humans. Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europedescendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished. Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were identified in 1856, scientists have been vexed by the question, why did modern humans survive while their evolutionary cousins went extinct?

The Invaders musters compelling evidence to show that the major factor in the Neanderthals demise was direct competition with newly arriving humans. Drawing on insights from the field of invasion biology, which predicts that the species ecologically closest to the invasive predator will face the greatest competition, Pat Shipman traces the devastating impact of a growing human population: reduction of Neanderthals geographic range, isolation into small groups, and loss of genetic diversity.

But modern humans were not the only invaders who competed with Neanderthals for big game. Shipman reveals fascinating confirmation of humans partnership with the first domesticated wolf-dogs soon after Neanderthals first began to disappear. This alliance between two predator species, she hypothesizes, made possible an unprecedented degree of success in hunting large Ice Age mammalsa distinct and ultimately decisive advantage for humans over Neanderthals at a time when climate change made both groups vulnerable.

Recensione

Why did the Neanderthals disappear? In a judicious and enthralling account, Shipman makes a compelling case that, as a truly invasive species, humans were the main cause. An original twist adds an accomplice to the scenario: An unexpectedly early prototype of man s best friend proved to be the Neanderthals worst enemy. --Robert D. Martin, A. Watson Armour III Curator of Biological Anthropology, The Field Museum, Chicago"

"According to a leading US anthropologist, early dogs, bred from wolves, played a critical role in the modern human s takeover of Europe 40,000 years ago when we vanquished the Neanderthal locals ... If Shipman is right, she will have solved one of evolution s most intriguing mysteries. --Observer

"I am an admirer of her work; her style is engaging yet authoritative and the pages fly by. The book she co-wrote two decades ago with Alan Walker on the evolution of Homo erectus, The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins, is a popular science classic, and her new book is cast from the same mould. It provides an up-to-date summary of the current thinking about Neanderthal evolution and presents many complex ideas with a great deal of perspicacity and wit. The Invaders offers us the appealing prospect of an expert writing on her specialism and clearly having a great deal of fun doing so [...] Shipman builds an extremely compelling case for the role of Homo sapiens as an invasive species who arrived in Europe about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and had an immediate impact on their new ecosystem [...] There will doubtless be readers who disagree with Shipman s theory and, after all, an unsolved mystery is much more fun than a solution. But the greatest strength of The Invaders lies in its approach to science and the palpable delight that Shipman takes in simply thinking. Remember thinking? Not publishing for the sake of it, not worrying about impact or research excellence framework returns, but taking time to examine data, to consider the big questions and to synthesise across multiple subjects to produce a viable and intellectually satisfying theory. --Times Higher Education