AcknowledgmentsPrehistoryLittle LucyIntrepid PaleontologistsPart I: Sons of Africa:1. Basic Principles of Evolutionary TheoryThe legacy of inherited traitsNatural selectionProgressive evolutionary stages2. We, The PrimatesEcological definition and diversity among primatesPrimate classificationsHominids: Monkeys of our same branchHistory of the primates3. Climate & EvolutionOrigin of the speciesClimatic changes during the last million yearsPaleothermic stagesFactors of climate changeCycles of MilankovicA climatic model for equatorial AfricaPolemic vaporThe end of paradise4. Origin of HumanityMolecular clocksThe first hominid fossilsHabitat changeEast Side StoryFossil datingEl Ni ñoIdentity signs5. The Biped ChimpanzeeThe big stepThe footprints of LaetoliThe mystery of the mysteries of human evolutionPortrait of the body of Australopithecus6. Paranthropus: Hominid of the Open PlainsOrigins and distributionThe specialist7. A Distinctive HominidThe first humansStoneworkersThe diversification of HomoReady for the great leapFamily relationshipsThe science of relationshipsThe hominid tree8.
Evolution of the Vertebrate Nervous SystemThe organ of intelligenceBig and small brainsChampions of brain developmentMeasuring the soulThe brain sizes of hominid fossilsThe surface of the brainThe size of the mind9. Teeth, Guts, Hands, and BrainDiet typesMammalian carnivores and mammalian herbivoresTeeth of the first primatesDentition of the first hominidsSizes of molars and forms of handsGuts and brains10. DevelopmentRate of tooth developmentChildbirth and the newbornInfancy and adolescence11. Social IntelligenceThe boring sex life of the orangutangAdaptive behaviorsComparative socio-biology of the hominidsNatural selection and sexual selectionBipeds and monogamy from the beginning?Size of the brain and size of the social groupSummaryPart II: A New Home:12. New Scenes Halt Human EvolutionHomo erectus and populating AsiaThe first EuropeansLa Gran Dolina and the first EuropeansPrehistoric cannibalismHomo antecessorHuman evolution in Europe in the Middle PleistoceneLa Sima de los Huesos (The Pit of Bones)13. The NeanderthalsAs they wereLife and death among the NeanderthalsThe beginning and the end of the Neanderthals14. The Origin of Modern Man: The Fossil EvidenceNeanderthals and modern humansTwo types of human intelligenceThe Near East: A crossroadTo the eastern borders of AsiaThe African origin of Homo sapiens15. The Origin of Modern Man: The Genetic EvidenceA brilliant ideaMolecules of inheritanceThe Black EveAn Adam for EveThe other chromosomesPleistocene ParkFossils and moleculesPatterns of beauty16.
The Origin of Human LanguageKing Solomon 's ringLanguage and the brainThe primate chokedSpeech productionFossils speakGroup selection and the extinction of the NeanderthalsThe tangled web of natural selection17. The Essence of EvolutionVignette of lifeOrder and chaosEpilogue: The Endless HistoryBibliographyIndex.