The Origin of Our Species
By Chris Stringer

Chris Stringer's bestsellingand The Origin of our Speciesand tackles the big questions in the ongoing debate about the beginnings of human life on earth.Do all humans originate from Africa? How did we spread across the globe? Are we separate from Neanderthals, or do some of us actually have their genes? When did humans become 'modern' - are traits such as art, technology, language, ritual and belief unique to us? Has human evolution stopped, or are we still evolving?Chris Stringer has been involved in much of the crucial research into the origins of humanity, and here he draws on a wealth of evidence - from fossils and archaeology to Charles Darwin's theories and the mysteries of ancient DNA - to reveal the definitive story of where we came from, how we lived, how we got here and who we are.'A new way of defining us and our place in history'and and Sunday Times'When it comes to human evolution Chris Stringer is as close to the horse's mouth as it gets ...and The Origin of Our Speciesand should be the one-stop source on the subject. Read it now'and and BBC Focus'Britain's foremost expert on human evolution ... you need a primer to make sense of the story so far. Here is that book'and and Guardian'Combines anecdote and speculation with crisp explanation of the latest science in the study of the first humans ... an engaging read'and and New ScientistChris Stringerand is Britain's foremost expert on human origins and works in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum. He also currently directs the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, aimed at reconstructing the first detailed history of how and when Britain was occupied by early humans. His previous books includeand African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity,and The Complete World of Human Evolutionand and most recently,and Homo Britannicus, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book of the Year in 2007.