Mapping human history

Steve Olson

Mapping Human History is a comprehensive guide to the evolution of humans. The book is carefully chaptered into specific sections which focus on explaining both the geographical causes of human evolution (for example, isolation); the nature of which human characteristics are transferred to future generations by genetic processes; and the effects this has had on the distribution of humans across the planet. Olson accumulates a rich wealth of evidence such that the book covers a wide epoch of time and is valuable reading for many different cultures and ethnicities. It succeeds also in terms of providing complex and perhaps hitherto unknown ideas for readers about ideas such as 'mitochondrial Eve' and the Kalahari bushmen, whilst being easily accessible for anyone with just a framework knowledge of the barebones of evolution or genetics. It is a thoroughly enjoyable read.