“Where Man Begins” is an extremely fascinating book, published in May 2025 by two of Italy’s most brilliant science writers, Telmo Pievani and Giuseppe Remuzzi.
The former is a Professor of Philosophy of Biological Sciences at the University of Padua and a Visiting Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Giuseppe Remuzzi, a medical doctor specializing in Hematology and Nephrology, is the Director of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan and a member of the Accademia dei Lincei.
Combining their scientific expertise, they provide an up-to-date and interdisciplinary overview of the history of human evolution, highlighting the complexity of the evolution of diverse human species that, from their origins in Africa, spread in successive waves to all other continents, adapting to various environments and climatic conditions and interacting with each other in complex ways.
The subtitle Hybrids and Migrants: A Brief History of the Human Adventure effectively highlights the interactions between different human species, primarily between modern humans, the only survivors, and two of the four currently known Homo species: Neanderthals and Denisovans. These groups coexisted in Asia and Europe, mixing their genes—modern non-African human populations contain small fragments of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA in their genomes—and their abilities, contributing to the unique characteristics of our species.
Publisher: Solferino, 2025
Pages: 288, Paperback | EAN: 9788828216438
The book is divided into five sections. The first discusses some of the premises of human evolution, including the survival of mammals during the catastrophe that led to the extinction of nearly all dinosaurs and the dramatic climate change that, approximately 900,000 years ago, caused the extermination of 98% of human populations, with only Homo sapiens likely surviving. In the second section, the authors address the issue of coexistence between different human species. The third section examines the modalities and effects, including on human health, of hybridization between humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. The fourth section describes the characteristics that make Homo sapiens unique, with particular emphasis on the importance of altruism and the ability to cooperate, which, together with language, undoubtedly determined our evolutionary success. The final section looks to prospects, to try to understand how our evolutionary history can help us address problems that we ourselves have created or contributed to exacerbating, such as the exploitation of natural resources, social inequalities, diseases, or anthropogenic climate change.
A very enjoyable and fluid style that intrigues and stimulates the reader, encouraging reflection on the proper place of our species on the planet that hosts us. We no longer see ourselves as superior to others, but rather as endowed with unique characteristics that make us an integral part of the biosphere. For this reason, we should understand the gravity of the impact our actions have on the planet and be motivated to act responsibly towards all other species.
Credits
Author: Francesco Sgarrella, Former Full Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Sassari and member of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is the author of numerous scientific publications in international journals. His scientific interests have primarily focused on studying the use of nucleic acids as a source of metabolic energy.
Translated by Maria Antonietta Sessa
