Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade (PDF)

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“Meaty, well-written.” —Kirkus Reviews“Timely and informative.” —The New York Times Book Review“By far the best book I have ever read on humanity’s deep history.” —E. O. Wilson, biologist and author of The Ants and On Human NatureNicholas Wade’s articles are a major reason why the science section has become the most popular, nationwide, in the New York Times. In his groundbreaking Before the Dawn, Wade reveals humanity’s origins as never before—a journey made possible only recently by genetic science, whose incredible findings have answered such questions as: What was the first human language like? How large were the first societies, and how warlike were they? When did our ancestors first leave Africa, and by what route did they leave? By eloquently solving these and numerous other mysteries, Wade offers nothing less than a uniquely complete retelling of a story that began 500 centuries ago.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Meaty, well-written.” —Kirkus Reviews“Impeccable, fearless, responsible and absorbing . . . Bound to be the gold standard in the field for a very long time.” —Lionel Tiger, Rutgers University“Timely and informative.” —The New York Times Book Review“By far the best book I have ever read on humanity’s deep history.” —E. O. Wilson, biologist and author of The Ants and On Human Nature About the Author Nicholas Wade received a BA in natural sciences from King’s College, Cambridge. He was the deputy editor of Nature magazine in London and then became that journal’s Washington correspondent. He joined Science magazine in Washington as a reporter and later moved to The New York Times, where he has been an editorial writer, concentrating on issues of defense, space, science, medicine, technology, genetics, molecular biology, the environment, and public policy, a science reporter, and a science editor.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I thought the first part of the book which was actually about the prehistory as newly discovered through DNA analysis was very interesting. I was less thrilled with the chapters on Race, Language and History. The wrap up chapter on Evolution was good, if a bit repetitious.Wade writes extremely well and does a good job of summarizing the latest (circa 2005) research, much of which has come from analyses of the descent of the Y chromosome (from men) and mitochondrial DNA handed down through the female line. The question of our relationship with the Neanderthal–long a thorny question–is more or less resolved with DNA extracted from Neanderthal fossil bones that has been compared to the sequences of human DNA. The conclusion is that H. neanderthalensis came from H. ergaster through H. heidelbergensis as H. sapiens did, and then broke off on its own. Furthermore there is no genetic evidence that human and Neanderthal produced viable offspring. The earlier idea than the Neanderthal was a modification of the very successful H. erectus has been discredited.As to the question of our origins, northeast sub-Saharan Africa is further confirmed as the site. Wade has humans becoming behavioral human around 50,000 years ago after becoming anatomically human as early as perhaps 200,000 years ago. The great leap forward occurring 50,000 years ago is attributed to the acquisition of symbolic, syntactic language. This was also the time when humans made the exodus out of Africa and began to colonize the world. They went east across the Red Sea at the Gate of Grief during a glacial period when the sea level was two hundred feet lower than it is today. They followed the coast line of the present Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to India and eventually to Australia. I had previously though humans had gone north along the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and then east and then north to Europe. However, the evidence indicates that it was only later that humans migrated to Europe from India westward to replace the Neanderthal.I had also always thought that agriculture came before settled communities, but it now appears that sedentism occurred first and was part of a behavioral and psychological change in humans that led to agriculture and eventually to cities and nation states. Just prior to or at about the same time as the first settlements appeared some 15,000 years ago occurred the domestication of the dog. Wade avers that living in settlements near a plentiful food source (wild grains, a bountiful river, etc.) was partially made possible by people using dogs as sentries against the ancient practice of dawn raids by neighboring tribes. Clearly the transition from the hunter-gatherer way of life to the settled way of life was a momentous one.Perhaps the reason I wasn’t so thrilled with the latter part of the book is that I read some of the studies Wade considers elsewhere. The experience of Brian Sykes in tracing the ancestry of people named “Sykes” and of Thomas Jefferson’s second family with the slave Sally Hemings are examples of DNA derived stories that I had read before. Wade’s account of the saga of the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe, although also a familiar story, is most interesting. He cites studies showing that Ashkenazi Jews have an average IQ of 115 while Sephardic and Oriental Jews have the usual average of 100. A couple of arguments are presented to account for this difference. The more plausible one is that because the Jews of Europe were forced by the Christian majority into becoming money lenders from about AD 1100 until around 1700. (Christianity at the time forbade usury.) That sort of intellectually demanding way of life, along with having to make a living amid persecution, selected for intelligence. By way of contrast, Sephardic and Oriental Jews during the same period “lived mostly under Muslim rulers who often forced them into menial jobs, not the intellect-demanding ones imposed on Ashkenazim.” (p. 256)More than any other book I have read, “Before the Dawn” insists on cultural change leading rapidly to genetic change. With the experience of the Ashkenazi Jews as a case in point, Wade argues more generally that “for social species the most important feature of the environment [which directs evolutionary change] is their own society.” He concludes that “to the extent that people have shaped their own society, they have determined the conditions of their own evolution.” (p. 267.This might be termed “evolution by your own boot straps.” I wonder however if it isn’t a sort of fallacy. Biological evolution shapes human behavior which in turn leads to cultural change which leads to further biological evolution. I think it is better to speak of cultural evolution as a subset of biological evolution and not imply that somehow we have begun to direct the process. But this may be just a quibbling over semantics. Clearly the environment has changed us and we have changed the environment.In the final chapter Wade speculates on where we are going. I always like such speculations but only really appreciate those that have us becoming post-human in some way. Wade posits one possibility that I have not thought about in years, that of humans splitting into two or more species. He notes: “Our previous reaction to kindred species was to exterminate them, but we have mellowed a lot in the last 50,000 years.” (p. 279)By the way, this idea that we “have mellowed a lot,” and become less aggressive since we have domesticated ourselves is one that appears elsewhere in the book and is an idea that, for better or for worse, appears surprisingly to be true. The actually percentage of humans killed during warfare appears to have been much greater during the prehistory than it is today. The wars today are much bigger but the wars in the pre-history, according to the research presented here, were nearly constant.(Note: thirteen of my books are now available at Amazon including “Understanding Evolution and Ourselves.”)

⭐Other reviewers have done a fine job praising and criticizing this book (Wade’s “Before the Dawn”). I only want to add a few comments.1. This is remarkably up to date, c. January 2006. But the field of genetics is rapidly changing. Most of the findings presented here will be challenged, some vindicated and many–who knows? maybe even most–overturned. That’s the nature of science. The more up to date you are, you may be among the first to understand new fascinating discoveries, but you are also more likely to be on the cutting edge of error. Regardless, it’s an exciting place to be.For this reason, Wade’s book is the best book on this topic that I know of, at this point in time. I give it 5 stars, despite the criticisms I’m about to make, because it is intensely fascinating stuff.Zimmer’s “Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins,” does a marginally better job at some points, and it is beautifully illustrated, so you might consider it instead. In particular, Zimmer’s book has much better coverage of our pre-Sapiens ancestors. But Wade’s book takes a much deeper and wider look at anthropology and history. Which brings me to my second comment:2. The misleading title suggests a book on paleoanthropology, one of the main fields genetics is informing. Certainly a little of that’s in here. But Wade’s book is primarily a catalogue of the contributions genetics is making to our knowledge of history. For instance, Wade discusses Thomas Jefferson’s secret family with his slave mistress, the descendents and sexual prowess of Genghis Khan, and surnames in Britian–hardly typical paleonanthropology, but right on topic for a book about genetics and history.(I agree with another reviewer that if you liked “Guns, Germs and Steel,” this book is certainly your cup of tea. On the other hand, “Guns” is a classic, and I recommend it above, or at the very least, along with this one. Also, if you want/need a more general introduction to genetics, you can’t do better than the new, 30th anniversary edition of Richard Dawkins’ classic, “The Selfish Gene.” Both strongly recommended–when this book is forgotten, people will still be discussing those.)There’s very fascinating stuff here if you’re interested in anthropology, although Wade’s habit is to raise questions, imply a few things, and then proceed without further discussion.3. A minor criticism is that throughout the book Wade exagerrates the significance of certain discoveries. Well, there are some exciting discoveries, many of them exciting because they were unexpected. However, he is intentionally (I think) unfair to people who are skeptical or confounded by these discoveries.In short, he is a lot less balanced or fair than other popular authors such as Pinker or Ridley. (He writes more like a journalist or a social scientist than a scientist or popularizer.) But he also makes a big mistake–which most authors would not, I think–in his discussion of race:4. Admirably, Wade squarely faces the issue of genetically-defined race. Within the medical professions, there is good reason to be excited, since understanding the unique genetics of different races (and, even better, when technology allows, different individuals) allows doctors to identify the most efficient treatments in cases where one race responds differently than another. Wade discusses this briefly.What genetics has not done, however, is confirm our common assumptions about race. Consider: one of the five main races of the world is “Caucasian,” which, genetically defined, includes not only Italians and Slavs, but also Berbers, Copts, Jews, Arabs, Persians, and most South Asians. That is obviously not the way we usually draw the lines. Wade does not draw attention to the significance of this fact.Rather, he rails against sociologists for pointing out that our concepts of race are constructed, without understanding or explaining that our folk-concepts of race are not in fact based squarely in biological, genetic facts.We have a lot of work to do before we understand either the biological realities of race or their social significance. One thing is for certain, however: whatever it discovers, biology cannot justify racism. That is solely a moral issue. Racism will be rejected or endorsed regardless of any scientific discoveries, which will be very easily interpreted (or ignored) to suit our beliefs. Racism is wrong because human decency says it is wrong, not because some scientific discovery says so. No scientific discoveries will never change the central issue.One of my biggest criticisms of the book is that Wade doesn’t bother to make that point explicitly. Why not? It takes a mere paragraph. (Zimmer’s book carefully avoids raising and discussing the sensitive issues here.)To be fair, Wade does do a good job of presenting the genetic evidence that race exists (even if not in the ways we often assume), which is sorely-needed and unnecessarily controversial in our culture.5. In general, Wade is too careless about the political issues he raises. Race is not the only issue. For instance, he suggests that the motivation of human warfare is often–consciously or not–reproductive advantage. I think that’s probably right.But why doesn’t he discuss the political significance of this idea? Is he afraid to tell us what he thinks? Unable to think it through? Hey, this is meaty and important stuff, and I think he should have dealt with it.The best book I know of, if you’re interested in this kind of thing, is Pinker’s “The Blank Slate.” That book I recommend very strongly.It’s been awhile, but if I remember correctly, Wilson’s “On Human Nature” is OK on this point too. It’s certainly a classic, deservedly so, both mercifully short and intensely thought-provking, and I recommend it as well.6. The last pages of the book, in which Wade discusses a few scenarios for the future of human evolution, are certainly entertaining brain candy. However, it’s optimistic in any case. I recommend Martin Rees’ “Our Final Hour” if you really want to contemplate the long-term future of humanity.

⭐This book finally puts history into its proper perspective. It traces the descent of man and his habitation from the earliest of times in an objective and unprejudiced, clear to understand manner. Based on solid scientific research it dispels the myth of the “noble savage” and portrays us all as we really are – warts and all. It should be compulsory reading for all schoolchildren – and their teachers.

⭐As someone who finds the origins and deep history of our species fascinating, and has read a number of books on the subject I have to say that I found this one the most enjoyable. As an experienced science journalist the author is more adept at explaining the an area of science that has become much better understood with genetic evidence over the last decade or so, to a general audience than most scientists.Wade traces our origins from the time humans split from chimpanzees through the key milestones of modern human development such as coming down from the trees, developing language, spreading from Africa, settlements and agriculture and explains what would be the likely pressures that pushed humanity in those directions.This is a great book and almost anyone interested in the subject will appreciate it.

⭐I find human origins fascinating, and this book covers a very broad and complex subject in understandable language. Recommended for any reader not just the specialist.

⭐Quite good bookVery interesting

⭐Good introduction and overview to current trends and findings about Early hominids. This book makes new and prominent archaeology easy for everyone, even the non specialist, to understand. Not quite what I was after, but for an introduction when reading archaeology at university, very good!

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