ABSTRACT
Human evolution is important for two linked reasons. First, it is about “us” and we have a natural interest in our biological history. Second, there is more evidence on the evolution of our species from fossils, from genomic analysis, and, uniquely, from artefacts than for any other. e main aims of this chapter are to (i) summarize the evidence on the evolutionary steps that led an early group of hominins descending from the African great apes eventually to give rise to modern man; (ii) discuss the various migrations from Africa through which modern humans colonized the world; and (iii) consider what light the anatomical and artefactual evidence casts on these events. In the wider context, this deep knowledge about the evolution of a single taxon helps answer broader questions about the processes of evolution.
