This book explores important chapters of past and recent African history from a multidisciplinary perspective. It covers an extensive time range from the evolution of early humans to the complex cultural and genetic diversity of modern-day populations in Africa. Through a comprehensive list of chapters, the book focuses on different time-periods, geographic regions and cultural and biological aspects of human diversity across the continent. Each chapter summarises current knowledge with perspectives from a varied set of international researchers from diverse areas of expertise. The book provides a valuable resource for scholars interested in evolutionary history and human diversity in Africa.

CONTENTS PAGE:

Introduction: Engagement Cross-Disciplinary Research in Africa

Part 1 Early Humans in Africa

• Ch. 1: A Southern African Perspective on Human Origins Research between 500 000 and 50 000 Years Ago: Current Dilemmas and Questions for the Future

• Ch. 2: Further Notes on the Ngaloba Industry, a Middle Stone Age Assemblage Directly Associated with Early Homo in the Greater Laetoli, Northern Tanzania

Part 2 Cultural Transitions in Africa

• Ch. 3: West-Central African Diversity from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, Continuities and Transitions during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

• Ch. 4: Ancient Urban Assemblages and Complex Spatial and Socio-Political Organization in Iron Age Archaeological Sites from Southern Africa

• Ch. 5: Diversity and Variability in the Preindustrial Iron-Smelting Technologies of Great Zimbabwe, Southern Africa

• Ch. 6: Grappling with Diversity in Livestock-Related, Non-Agriculturist Archaeology in the Light of Genetic Research into the Lactase Persistence Allele, -14010*C, in Southern Africa

Part 3 Genomic Research of Ancient and Modern Populations in Africa

• • Ch. 7: Paleogenomics of the Neolithic Transition in North Africa

  • Ch. 8: Ancient DNA Studies and African Population History

  • Ch. 9: The H3Africa Consortium: Publication Outputs of a Pan-African Genomics Collaboration (2013 to 2020)

  • Ch. 10: Disentangling the Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in African Diaspora Populations from a Genomic Perspective

Back Matter

Index of Names

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More about these four e-Books:

The four African Successes volumes look at recent improvements in living standards and other measures of development in many African countries with an eye toward identifying what shaped them and the extent to which the lessons learned are transferable and can guide policy in other nations and at the international level.

This open access textbook by Jakkie Cilliers offers a critical introduction to human and economic development prospects in Africa revolving around three questions: where is Africa today, what explains the current state, and, given historical trends and what we know about the world, where do we think the continent will be in 2040? And, a final question: what can we do to create a better tomorrow? It models ambitious progress in health, demographics, agriculture, education, industrialization, technological leapfrogging, increased trade, greater stability, better governance and external support. The book reviews the future of work/jobs, poverty and the impact of climate change. A combined Closing the Gap scenario presents a forecast of what could be possible by 2040. Each chapter suggests which policies might accelerate prospects for each sector. Written in an accessible style, and supported by a range of pedagogical features, this textbook introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the contemporary human and economic development prospects in Africa.

To summarize, the book:

    + Analyzes human and economic development prospects in Africa

    + Aims to examine where African human and economic development will be in 2040

    + Reviews development trends and suggest policies which might accelerate the development process

CONTENTS PAGE:

Front Matter

• The Growing Gap

• Africa’s Current Path

• Health

• Getting to Africa’s Demographic Dividend

• Wanted: A Revolution in Agriculture

• Boosting Education

• Poverty, Inequality and Growth

• Changing Productive Structures

• The Future of Work in Africa

• Technological Innovation and the Power of Leapfrogging

• Trade and Growth

• Prospects for Greater Peace

• Good Governance, Democracy and Development

• Aid, Remittances and Foreign Direct Investment

• Climate Change

• Closing the Gap

Back Matter

[Book Author: Jakkie Cilliers]

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