Humanity's African Roots

Humanity's African Roots
Author: Joe Holland
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2012-07-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781478256632

This book is the first volume in a series written from an Afrocentric perspective, especially for use in forming young visionary leaders for the emerging postmodern Global Civilization. It invites young leaders and all people to study humanity's African roots and the ancient and healing wisdom of African traditions. Within the contemporary intellectual-spiritual renaissance of African roots, the book highlights the creation-oriented spirituality of Africa, so full of joy and praise. It summarizes the scientific story of our human family's birth in ancient Africa, and our human family's subsequent migratory journey across the entire planet. It points out the African roots of civilization, of spirituality, and of the roles of women and men, all of which may still be partially reflected across today's human cultures. The book argues that we humans form a single human family guided by common philosophical-ethical truths seminally present in ancient African wisdom. It argues that these truths are grounded in the nature and purpose of everything in the created world, including humanity. We humans are not separated into radically different races. Nor are we separated from the rest of Nature. Rather, we form one human family within the natural world and we seek a common Global Ethics for ourselves and for the natural world of which we are an organic part. The book invites young leaders and all people to work together in healing the great spiritual, ecological, and social breakdowns that have developed from following the false philosophical wisdom of the mechanical-utilitarian cosmology at the foundation of modern Western industrial-colonial civilization. This misguided cosmology constitutes the deep intellectual root of late modern Western culture's promotion of selfish individualism, ecological destruction, and spiritual emptiness. Drawing on African wisdom, the book seeks to help young leaders, and others, to develop a healing global vision for ecological, social, and spiritual regeneration. The book may be used for college and high-school classes, for adult study groups, or for individual study. JOE HOLLAND, the author, is Professor of Philosophy at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, in the United States. He also serves as President of the Pacem in Terris Global Leadership Initiative. He holds a Ph.D. in the field of Social Ethics from the University of Chicago and has published twelve other books.

African Exodus

African Exodus
Author: Chris Stringer
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1627797491

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book A Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book A New York Times Notable Book Once in a generation a book such as African Exodus emerges to transform the way we see ourselves. This landmark book, which argues that our genes betray the secret of a single racial stock shared by all of modern humanity, has set off one of the most bitter debates in contemporary science. "We emerged out of Africa," the authors cont, "less than 100,000 years ago and replaced all other human populations." Employing persuasive fossil and genetic evidence (the proof is in the blood, not just the bones) and an exceptionally readable style, Stringer and McKie challenge long-held beliefs that suggest we evolved separately as different races with genetic roots reaching back two million years.

African Genesis

African Genesis
Author: Sally C. Reynolds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 599
Release: 2012-03-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107019958

This book reviews key themes and developments in palaeoanthropology, exploring their impact on our understanding of human origins in Africa.

Shaping Humanity

Shaping Humanity
Author: John Gurche
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0300182023

Describes the process by which the author uses knowledge of fossil discoveries and comparative ape and human anatomy to create forensically accurate representations of human beings' ancient ancestors.

The Cradle of Humanity

The Cradle of Humanity
Author: Mark Maslin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2017
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0198704526

One of the fundamental questions of our existence is why we are so smart. There are lots of drawbacks to having a large brain, including the huge food intake needed to keep the organ running, the frequency with which it goes wrong, and our very high infant and mother mortality rates compared with other mammals, due to the difficulty of giving birth to offspring with very large heads. So why did evolution favour the brainy ape? This question has been widely debated among biological anthropologists, and in recent years, Maslin and his colleagues have pioneered a new theory that might just be the answer. Looking back to a crucial period some 1.9 million years ago, when brain capacity increased by as much as 80%, The Cradle of Humanity explores the implications of two adaptive responses by our hominin ancestors to rapid climatic changes - big jaws, and big brains. Maslin argues that the impact of changing landscapes and fluctuating climates that led to the appearance of intermittent freshwater lakes in East Africa may have played a key role in human evolution. Alongside the physical evidence of fossils and tools, he considers social theories of why a large, complex brain would have provided a major advantage when trying to survive in the constantly changing East African landscape.

Humanity's Descent

Humanity's Descent
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: William Morrow
Total Pages: 344
Release: 1996
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

Discusses recent theories of human evolution, and looks at how changing ecology has shaped human development.

Language and Development in Africa

Language and Development in Africa
Author: Ekkehard Wolff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2016-05-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107088550

This volume explores the central role of language across all aspects of public and private life in Africa.

Modern Humans

Modern Humans
Author: John F. Hoffecker
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0231543743

Modern Humans is a vivid account of the most recent—and perhaps the most important—phase of human evolution: the appearance of anatomically modern people (Homo sapiens) in Africa less than half a million years ago and their later spread throughout the world. Leaving no stone unturned, John F. Hoffecker demonstrates that Homo sapiens represents a “major transition” in the evolution of living systems in terms of fundamental changes in the role of non-genetic information. Modern Humans synthesizes recent findings from genetics (including the rapidly growing body of ancient DNA), the human fossil record, and archaeology relating to the African origin and global dispersal of anatomically modern people. Hoffecker places humans in the broad context of the evolution of life, emphasizing the critical role of genetic and non-genetic forms of information in living systems as well as how changes in the storage, transmission, and translation of information underlie major transitions in evolution. He also draws on information and complexity theory to explain the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa several hundred thousand years ago and the rapid and unprecedented spread of our species into a variety of environments in Australia and Eurasia, including the Arctic and Beringia, beginning between 75,000 and 60,000 years ago. This magisterial work will appeal to all with an interest in the ever-fascinating field of human evolution.

African History: A Very Short Introduction

African History: A Very Short Introduction
Author: John Parker
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2007-03-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0192802488

Intended for those interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history, this work looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented. It illustrates key themes in modern thinking about Africa's history with a range of historical examples.

A Century of Nature

A Century of Nature
Author: Laura Garwin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2010-03-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226284166

Many of the scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century were first reported in the journal Nature. A Century of Nature brings together in one volume Nature's greatest hits—reproductions of seminal contributions that changed science and the world, accompanied by essays written by leading scientists (including four Nobel laureates) that provide historical context for each article, explain its insights in graceful, accessible prose, and celebrate the serendipity of discovery and the rewards of searching for needles in haystacks.