ABSTRACT
The previous selection introduced the “discordance hypothesis,” referring to the mismatch between an ancestral human genome adapted to life in Paleolithic times and a modern lifestyle far different in terms of diet, physical activity, reproductive patterns, infant and child care, and social organization. Other selections described some major genetic changes (hemolytic anemias, lactose tolerance, and possibly physical adaptations to high altitude) that have taken place since the adoption of agriculture some ten thousand years ago, but these are rare compared to overall stability in the human genome. Indeed, human migrations and cultural innovations may have dampened the environmental variability that might otherwise have favored genetic changes.
