With respect to other human features, Diamond reprises all the theories you've ever heard about sexual behavior, selection, menstruation, menopause, etc. New in this area is a discussion of animal art and communication (e.g., bowerbird constructions, vervet-monkey talk) and creolization (the development of sophisticated human languages from pidgin forms). With only 1.6 percent difference between the human genome and the genomes of two species of chimps, Diamond declares that we should call ourselves "the third chimpanzee.'' (Curiously, he fails to mention neoteny as making a world of genetic difference.) Diamond first reviews human evolution, ending with the great leap forward that he attributes to language. Plenty of provocative ideas in this grand sweep of evolutionary biology and anthropology: not surprising for this MacArthur "genius'' Award-winner, Natural History columnist, and UCLA Medical School physiology professor.
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