Di umani e altre scimmie del genere. Darwinismo, paleoantropologia e archeogenetica

Abstract

On Human and other Apes of the kind: Darwinism, Paleoanthropology and Archaeogenetics The affirmation and diffusion of darwinism in Europe coincides with the birth of paleoanthropology. This paper analyzes the interaction between these elements from a historical perspective, underlining on the one hand the relevance of paleoanthropology within the reception of Darwin’s theories at the time, and on the other hand, the importance of recent discoveries in the field of human evolution, stemming from the so-called “Revolution of ancient DNA”. The fall of all anthropological models, brought forward by the implementation of archaeogenetics, opens a new season in the study of humanity’s deep past: the human “family tree” has been chopped down, and in its place, an unexpected and more complex scenario seems to unravel.

Keywords

• darwinism
• paleoanthropology
• archaeogenetics