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The latest chapter in the story of our ancestors

By John Hawks

22 June 2011

The Origin of Our Species by Chris Stringer combines anecdote and speculation with crisp explanation of the latest science in the study of the first humans

I ADMIT it was with some trepidation that I began to read Chris Stringer’s new book, The Origin of Our Species, on a long train journey. I mention the train because I wondered if I was fit to survive hours spent captive with the Darwinian prose suggested by the title. I needn’t have worried. Stringer has a crisp style that helps lighten what might have been heavy material.

Stringer’s work as the lead researcher…

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