The short answer to the question of human origins has already been triangulated
by genetics, paleontology,and archaeology: 200,000 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa.

So why do we need an entire book just to introduce the subject? Because the long
answer is an ever-lengthening saga that contains as many chapters as there are
traits that make up the human species.

In the following pages, the overwhelming evidence for human origins and evolution
and the fundamental concepts used to interpret that evidence are introduced and
discussed as only humans can do, with an arbitrary system of symbols printed on
processed tree pulp. Reading about the first spear throwers, prehistoric mammoth-
hunting injuries, or the first sea-faring journey to Australia should be like
reading about the miraculous throwing arm on your great-uncle, about how your great-
grandfather died reeling in a 150-lb fish, or about how your great-great-great
grandmother emigrated to America on a boat from Ireland.

It is my hope that readers of Human Origins 101 take away this important tenet
of human origins studies: we are modified African apes that, despite seemingly
great variation in biological and cultural ornamentation, share a common African
ancestor. We are all one diverse species with regionally varying physical
characteristics that are the results of environmental adaptations, mate preferences,
migration, or simply chance. Culture has a significant effect on the differences we
perceive in other people. Underneath the t-shirts, face paint, piercings, tattoos,
mohawks, and stilettos, we are all remarkably similar. It is because of our unique
makeup that we have both the propensity to forget and the ability to embrace that
we are an integral part of the natural world around us.

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