The Rise of Humans: Great Scientific Debates Audiobook By John Hawks, The Great Courses cover art

The Rise of Humans: Great Scientific Debates

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Rise of Humans: Great Scientific Debates

By: John Hawks, The Great Courses
Narrated by: John Hawks
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $33.90

Buy for $33.90

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Trying to understand our human origins has always been a fundamental part of who we are. Today, with the help of dramatic archaeological discoveries and groundbreaking advancements in technology and scientific understanding, we are closer than we've ever been to learning the true story. In recent decades, it has been the science of paleoanthropology that has led the investigation, helping us make sense of this controversial subject and providing us with a richer understanding of our origins. It's also sparked continued debate about key issues in human evolution.

  • Did early humans evolve in Africa alone, or in regions throughout the world?
  • Did Neandertals play an important role in our genetic heritage and, if so, how?
  • Why did prehistoric humans form cooperative communities and create art?

Now you can complete your own understanding of these issues in a fascinating 24-lecture series from an expert paleoanthropologist, who surveys both the questions that continue to rile the world's greatest minds in anthropology and the cutting-edge science responsible for them. The result is this expert guide to the wide-ranging debates over the most profound questions we can ask. Each lecture focuses on a single one of these questions and the sometimes surprising, sometimes fierce, and always illuminating debates surrounding them, including whether it was Africa or Asia that was more central to human origins, what prehistoric cultural groups were really like, and when humans actually reached the New World.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2011 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2011 The Great Courses
Biological Sciences Environment Science

Listeners also enjoyed...

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science Audiobook By Robert Sapolsky, The Great Courses cover art
Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science By: Robert Sapolsky, and others
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World Audiobook By Robert Garland, The Great Courses cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World By: Robert Garland, and others
The Story of Human Language Audiobook By John McWhorter, The Great Courses cover art
The Story of Human Language By: John McWhorter, and others
Major Transitions in Evolution Audiobook By Anthony Martin, John Hawks, The Great Courses cover art
Major Transitions in Evolution By: Anthony Martin, and others
The Foundations of Western Civilization Audiobook By Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization By: Thomas F. X. Noble, and others
The Iliad of Homer Audiobook By Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses cover art
The Iliad of Homer By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life Audiobook By Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses cover art
No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition Audiobook By Richard Wolfson, The Great Courses cover art
Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition By: Richard Wolfson, and others
The Science of Energy Audiobook By Michael E. Wysession, The Great Courses cover art
The Science of Energy By: Michael E. Wysession, and others
Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making Audiobook By Randall Bartlett, The Great Courses cover art
Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making By: Randall Bartlett, and others
Writing Creative Nonfiction Audiobook By Tilar J J. Mazzeo, The Great Courses cover art
Writing Creative Nonfiction By: Tilar J J. Mazzeo, and others
The Search for Exoplanets: What Astronomers Know Audiobook By The Great Courses, Joshua N. Winn cover art
The Search for Exoplanets: What Astronomers Know By: The Great Courses, and others
The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis Audiobook By Louis Markos, The Great Courses cover art
The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis By: Louis Markos, and others
The Dead Sea Scrolls Audiobook By Gary A. Rendsburg, The Great Courses cover art
The Dead Sea Scrolls By: Gary A. Rendsburg, and others
History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach Audiobook By The Great Courses, Gregory S. Aldrete cover art
History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach By: The Great Courses, and others
Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior Audiobook By Mark Leary, The Great Courses cover art
Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior By: Mark Leary, and others
Food: A Cultural Culinary History Audiobook By Ken Albala, The Great Courses cover art
Food: A Cultural Culinary History By: Ken Albala, and others
The American Civil War Audiobook By Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses cover art
The American Civil War By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest Audiobook By Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses cover art
England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
A Day's Read Audiobook By The Great Courses, Emily Allen, Grant L. Voth, Arnold Weinstein cover art
A Day's Read By: The Great Courses, and others
Enthusiastic Presentation • Accessible Explanations • Profound Takeaways • Humorous Approach • Enlightening Content
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Absolutely loved this. Accessible, engaging, up-to-date. Highly recommended. it was especially nice to have an episode on Homo floresiensis.

Great look at human evolution and genetics

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I really enjoyed the series of lectures. The concert was extremely religious to today's study that's apology. Dr. hugs delivery of the lectures were highly enjoyable and delivered the information in in format that was easy to follow. I highly recommend the series of lectures.

Very relative to today's study of anthropology

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Writer is an expert in paleo-anthropology and biology through genomics. This course is current through denosovia and Florencia. A detailed exploration of who we are and from whence we came. Highly recommended..

Current to spring 2014. Good science up to date.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Professor Hawks course is comprehensive, up-to-date, and well told. He is a good narrator. Highly recommended Great Courses listen!

Better than an introductory physical anthro course

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved it. the professor's voice was very pleasant. I would recommend anyone to listen to it.

excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

one of the best courses on human evolution and historic migration
the lecturer is enjoyable.

solid history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great explanations on how paleontologist study fossils and compare them with us, including classic and genetic evidences. Some of the debates the professor mentioned I did not even know they were debates at all. Very easy to listen to, highly recommended.

Great walk-through paleontology debates

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The book is up to date and gives you a good overview of our understanding of humans evolution using observation techniques and genetics.

Clear and easy to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was very well presented for such a complex and controversial subject. I would love to have more courses with this professor, perhaps something that goes into more depth on Neanderthals.

Excellent course!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Decent narration but could be more varied.

Engaging descriptions of the histories of vying theories about the origins and evolution of humans.

The clear explanation of sciencientific methodologies is particularly informative and interesting.

Interesting and informative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews