John H. Relethford - Human Population Genetics

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Relethford, John.

Human population genetics / John H. Relethford.

p. cm.

Includes index.

Summary: ``Human Population Genetics will provide an introduction to mathematical population genetics, along with relevant examples from human (and some non-human primate) populations, and will also present concepts and methods of population genetics that are specific to the study of human populations. The purpose of this book is to provide a basic background text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interesting in the mechanisms of human microevolution''Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-0-470-46467-0 (pbk.)

1. Human population genetics. I. Title.

GN289.R45 2012

599.93'5dc23

2011028962

Foreword

If, like us, you find yourself hard-pressed to follow the fast-paced scrimmages of anthropological genetics from the sidelines, this is the book you have been waiting for. John Relethford, one of the world's leading contributors to these debates, has written it to engage all of us in this important and rapidly evolving area of scientific inquiry. In Human Population Genetics , he leads us through classic studies and current debates in an easy, clear, informal style that draws us in and involves us in the action and arguments. Relethford's passion for understanding the genetics of human populations, and his low-stress approach to what can be a difficult and esoteric topic, kindle a like passion in the reader and make this book that rare thing among textbooksa source of excitement and inspiration.

Population genetics and statistical theory were born as conjoined twins in the monumental work of R. A. Fisher in the 1920s, which transformed evolutionary biology into a full-fledged science capable of making and testing predictions with numbers in them. But many people who are eager to learn about human biology and evolution are turned off by the statistical foundations of evolutionary theory. Almost everyone who teaches the fundamentals of our science has learned to dread the dazed expressions that come over students' faces the moment the HardyWeinberg equation hits the screen. Relethford shows us, and them, how to get around this stumbling block. Drawing the reader effortlessly in through plain and simple examples beautifully chosen to clarify the mathematics of probability, Relethford recruits his mastery of the subject and his skill as a teacher and writer to present the math in a user-friendly way that displaces the hard work of deriving formulas into adjacent appendices. His readers first master the essentials and later reward themselves by seeing the mathematics underlying the simple models they have just grasped. This process of orderly presentation leaves readers self-confident and ready to take on ever more complex material.

Throughout this book, Relethford systematically preaches and teaches a scientific approach to knowledge ( Much of science consists of developing a simple model, testing its fit in the real world, and then explaining why and how it fits and does not fit ) in a way that always solicits involvement by the reader ( To see this, let us try an example ). In every topic he presents, he returns to the readers' point of view ( What effect do you think selection has had on the allele frequencies ?) and includes them in the developing narrative. His readers will learn the concepts that are crucial to all fields of population biology by studying examples of special relevance to biological anthropologyhow familiarity with genetic evidence can inform us of our history (see the rich discussion on tracking the appearance of the CCR5-32 allele and subsequent resistance to the AIDS virus), how adaptation has taken many different paths in human history (see the discussion on different high-altitude adaptations in Tibetan and Andean people), and how cultural behavior impacts genetic processes (see the discussion on agriculture and hemoglobin S). Instead of cultural evolution negating genetic evolution, he writes, we are finding evidence of how cultural change has accelerated genetic evolution.