Rapid evolution: Can mutations explain historical events? (John Hawks at CASW 2009)

We usually think of evolution occurring over millions of years. But modern humans changed their environment 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture and the decline of nomadic life. And theyve been evolving very rapidly ever since. Genes for lighter skin, for example, are new and increasing in Europeans and Asians. Genes related to hearing are evolving very rapidly as well, possibly demonstrating that humans are adapting to language—or to the different sounds needed in particular languages. Genes that increase a populations fitness could lead to greater population growth, spread, and clashes with neighbors—as when populations north of Italy swept into territory once part of the Roman Empire. John Hawks is also comparing modern human DNA to the Neandertal genome, just now becoming available for study, to find out which mutations distinguish us from these very close relatives.

John Hawks, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Anthropology - University of Wisconsin, Madison

John Hawks' studies include trying to make sense of genetic fragments from different populations, and anthropological bone and tooth specimens, to show how humans have evolved during the past 30,000 years. And he attempts to integrate that knowledge with data from archeology and the historical record.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog

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