Stony Brook University. He is currently an associate editor for Molecular Ecology, a leading journal in the field. He has previously published an advanced textbook, Evolutionary Biology: A Plant Perspective (2018).
Cruzan applied the “Page 99 Test” to his new book, Looking Down the Tree: The Evolutionary Biology of Human Origins, and shared the following:
On page 99 of Looking Dawn the Tree – The Evolutionary Biology of Human Origins we get a taste of how this book explores different ideas for the origin of human characteristics. This page introduces proposals concerning the origin of the clitoris and female orgasm in humans and sets up subsequent pages that evaluate these ideas. It discusses suggestions from previous authors on the origin of the clitoris. One is that that it is simply an artifact of development like nipples and non-functional breasts in men. Another suggests that we inherited it from a common ancestor that was similar to bonobos, where sexual interactions – and especially between females – were important for social bonding. In subsequent pages we come to understand that human clitoris is not just an accident of development or a leftover from an ancestor, but is a highly functional organ. We learn that it has a high density of nerve endings and is one of the most complex organs in the human body. The fact that orgasm releases hormones that make a woman feel relaxed and safe with their partner suggests that it has a function that was favored by natural selection in our ancestors. We come to the conclusion that the clitoris and female orgasm contributed to pair bonding and the maintenance of stable relationships for male-female and female-female couples. This was critical for the survival of our ancestors because, as brain volume tripled from Lucy’s species to ours, infants were born much earlier in development and required more parental care than could be provided by a single parent. We ultimately learn that stable relationships and cooperation within the clans of our ancestors was critical for their survival.Visit the Cruzan Lab website.
So yes, opening this book to page 99 would give a reader a good idea of the writing style and content of this book. I think that most readers would be intrigued enough by what they read on this page to continue with subsequent pages to see where it led. But this single page is not representative of all of the content of Looking Down the Tree. As the cover suggests, there’s more to this book than just a discussion of science. As a non-fiction book, this one is unique because it includes vignettes into the life of a fictional character who lived around 70,000 years ago. The story of her life serves to vividly illustrate the struggles and challenges that our ancestors faced. By the end, my hope is that readers will have a much deeper appreciation of the circumstances that led to our unique appearance and behaviors; like any other animal, our species is the product of the environments experienced by our ancestors as they struggled to survive.
--Marshal Zeringue
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